Bandages
by FictionPadfoot
Summary: The word "Catharsis" suddenly becomes a much hated word when you're the one providing it. Apparently, there's something very wrong when your head grows back from being smashed and obliterated by a f*cking fruit truck. The world immediately labels you as an Ajin and suddenly, you're on The Universe's Most Wanted list...
1. Chapter 1 That Fcking Fruit Truck

**Bandages**

 **It's normal for a writer to want to take a break from their main stories and branch off to try new ones right? Well, I decided to take a breather and try a bit of fun with a manga I happen to adore:** ** _AJIN._**

 **Does anyone know of that manga? It isn't popular but it's incredibly, ultimately BADASS.**

 **Go. Read. It.**

 **Nuff said.**

 **How far will I go with this story? Well, it's going to be one of those pieces of writings I use when I want a break so updates will be inconsistent ^^.**

 **Ajin:** _ **Ajin are humans that cannot die. Seventeen years ago, they first appeared on a battlefield in Africa. From then on, more of their kind are discovered within the human society. Their rarity in appearance means that, for experimental purposes, the government will generously reward anyone who captures one**_.

* * *

It was so fast she didn't even have the time for her body to register the pain.

Light flashed in front of her, blinding her eyes for a split second, the roaring blare of the horn as the front rim of the truck smashed into her body.

Among the clamor and chaos, time slowed and she began to process the pain.

Bones fractured.

Ribs broken off and stuck out of her sides.

Head crushed in spattered pieces.

Arms and lower limbs smashed together.

Neck snapped and bent at an unnatural angle.

Spine obliterated.

Both femurs and ankles ripped from their tendons and now hung in limp suspension, the flesh was the only thing holding them together.

Pelvis cracked.

Collarbones busted and sticking up out of her jugular.

Nose smashed to the side, eyes permanently damaged.

All in all, she was dead.

…

She was suppose to be dead.

 **J**

Hello, I don't really have what you guys call a name but you can call me J, that okay with you?

No, not Jay, not Jayjay, and certainly not f*cking Jane. Just J.

Got it?

Good.

Bottom line is, I got hit and demolished by some f*cking fruit truck and now I'm dead.

I, a twenty-two year old who was _about_ to graduate with her Masters, got hit by a _f*cking fruit truck._

Let me explain myself, I just passed a milestone in my life at the top of my class and a degree in business with a promising position from the CEO of the largest company in the nation and I'm _dead._

You better not be laughing, it's not funny.

Graduating and dead by twenty-two…

I'm not crying. I'm promise I'm not crying. See? See that little itty-bitty liquid-like substance coming out of the corner of my eye?

It's those onion-cutting ninjas at work again.

You want to know how I died?

Well then, strap on and buckle your seatbelts and bring your barf bags kiddies, we're going on an M-rated adventure so don't tell your mommies.

Promise?

Good.

Now, where do I begin?

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 **A/N: Feedback and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! Is the formatting too weird? If so, please tell me and i'll consider changing it. ^^**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2 Oh the Irony

**I've written a bit more! Hahaha i know it's stupidly short sorry. And i couldn't stick to the previous format. It's so difficult not to want to squeeze in as much information i can when i only allow myself a single line to do so. ^^**

 **Lunar Runway Hiri: I a-freakin-gree! EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO AND READ AJIN!**

 **Qchronicles: the pairing is humanxajin**

 **WakaWakaDub: I'm glad you like her XD she's a rainbow of sunshine and thunderstorms haha**

* * *

Have you ever thought sometimes there should be days where everyone should just get the f*ck out of your way and leave you alone?

You too? Yeah I get ya, I've got those days, and today seems to be one of 'em.

It was working too. Have you ever seen a pissed off woman in six inch heels storm the streets like she was the female incarnate of Godzilla? That shit is terrifying! People jump and jostle each other to get out of your way like you've become the black plague and the risk of contamination is imminent.

It's glorifying I tell you.

Now if it's possible, picture a five foot four Godzilla with a red wig and one of those stupid black dress gowns over his shoulders and a half-crushed cap with a tassel. You see him? Can you see him march down the streets of New York while people are busy stumbling over each other to get away from him?

Now imagine a female Godzilla with a nice ass and decently sized breasts.

Bingo, that's me. Now shut that mouth before I shove something in it, like my foot.

So I was attempting to multitask with two hands rifling through my bodyba- I mean purse while keeping an eye on the ground and praying that I wouldn't fall with these death-traps called heels. It wasn't my intention to wear these neck-breaking contraptions, but when your sweet, fluffy ball of fur decides that your one pair of one-inch heels is going to be his next favorite chew toy, and you don't have any other choice but those fancy shmanshy heels that your best friend so generously gifted you for her amusement.

Suck it up J.

What was I looking for you so kindly ask? You know those breath mints crammed in those tiny -ass containers that factory decided to use just to make society's life that much harder? Well I was busy digging around my bag for those mints since my alarm had a mind of its own that I needed a ten hour sleep and being 30 minutes late to your own graduation day is A-okay.

The results ended in me frantically stuffing myself into a dress, tugging my gown over my body and smashing my cap haphazardly over my head. The door to my apartment is yanked shut and I'm out like a bat.

I hate bad breath and disgusting B.O. in general, it's one of those pet peeves of mine. Getting a whiff of it gives me the murderous urge to want to punch that person, or in this case, myself. I was so busy tearing through my bag that I had unknowingly stepped off the curb and was making my way to the other side when the sign across the main intersection was still red.

The consequence was the gory description in the first chapter.

 _*In a dramatic voice* "_ Bones fractured. Ribs broken off and stuck out of her sides. Head crushed in spattered pie-" alright, alright enough, I'm dead, I get it, and I've already accepted it.

The problem right now is why is my ass currently stuck inside a f*cking fruit crate? Apparently when the truck hit me, it sent me flying across the street and my body smashed into what was the remains of a fruit stand.

Oh the f*cking irony.

So I'm pissed and I'm annoyed and I have bits of bruised and flattened avocado and decimated bananas stuck all over my graduation gown. I'm so busy cursing up a storm that I don't notice people gaping and pointing at me; obviously I look like a complete wreck judging from their expressions.

"What the hell are you looking at?" I snap as I tightened my grip around my purse when my fingers scraped something that sure as _heck did not_ feel like my bag.

I look down, expecting to see my beloved black hobo bag in my grip.

Instead, I'm looking at what happens to be half of my head.

Can I just say….ew?


	3. Chapter 3 A Bit of Head Chucking

**Here's another stupidly short chapter 3! This story is going to probably have a ton of chapters when it's over.**

 **ssshh: I've updated!**

 **WakaWakaDub: Well my friend, you're in for a helluva ride**

 **Allhailthesith: it's seriously a shame that no one bothers to give this manga some well deserved recognition. I hope to see some future Ajin stories!**

 **FuckinShitZoro: I'll make sure fruit Truck-San knows you appreciate it ;)**

* * *

For a second, I just sit there, staring at what looked like an exact, bloody replicate of my head; from the top of my hair which now looked like some evil two year old two a pair of garden shears to it, to the disgusting piece of what was my face…or what was left of it.

It was even stranger that I wasn't freaking out; sure my stomach wanted to hurl and my head was hammering but…wait…my head? I reached up with trembling hands to touch my cheek…I still had a head? I scrabbled for my bag and yanked out my travel mirror snapping open the compact.

Eyes. Check.

Nose. Check.

Hair. Check.

Mouth. Check.

Ears. Check.

Nothing was missing. Was this some sort of sick joke? It was only when I looked up again to scan for cameras when I saw the entire block's inhabitants pointing their fancy ass iPhones and Samsungs at my face. Heck even the stupid truck driver who hit me was gawking at me. My cheeks flushed and I felt my insides curl; this was beginning to blow out of proportion. The sound of scream sirens made my ears throbbed as twin pairs of police vehicles screeched to a stop a few feet away from the destroyed fruit stand. The doors flew open and in a split second, four pairs of guns took aim at my head,

 **"** **FREEZE! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!"** Now I was gaping; this prank was one step too far,

"This is some f*cking prank right?" I snapped and managed to pull myself up to my feet, "I'm a f*cking valedictorian for the f*cking university you guys are so proud of! Is this some sort of joke you pull on people like us?" My head tucked under my arm, I marched up to the man in front of the lines and jabbed at his chest with my free hand, "give me some f*cking respect!" I pointed at my fallen cap laying on the ground, "you see that! You see that nice looking thing dangling from my cap! I'm f*cking summa cum laude! That means you treat me like f*cking royalty!" He leaped back as if I struck him and targeted the muzzle at my chest,

"Step back madam! Turn around and raise your hands! You're under arrest!" Now I was just plain pissed,

"For what!" I hissed; a part of me wondered why I wasn't quaking from the trigger happy fingers were pointing in my direction. I shrugged; probably the adrenaline,

"You're classified as an Ajin in hiding! You've displayed the ability to regenerate body parts and remain unscratched in an accident that should have killed you!" the ringing click of revolvers told me and everyone with their damn cameras three very important things.

One; I was an Ajin.

Two: The valedictorian of the country's most prided university is now the center of unwanted attention…which means I'm in some deep shit. I'll lose my scholarship, lose my degree, my job, my reputation, my entire life down the f*cking drain in less than ten seconds.

Three? Is this shit going on facebook? Because my mom is going to kill me when she sees this.

 **"** **HANDS UP IN THE AIR AND BEHIND YOUR HEAD!"** I ignore the officer and focus on the realization of my entire future crumbling before me.

So what do I do you ask?

Well me dear readers, here is where things become a bit of a funny story.

I chucked my head at the police and ran.


	4. Chapter 4 Pop It Like A Pimple

**Pop It Like A Pimple**

 **Yass! Another update!**

 **FuckinShitZoro: Oh they are very traumatized alright! Imagine someone giving you a cut off head saying, "Here you go sir/mad'am, one head served fresh and bloody." Haha.**

 **blindly: I have no idea where these crazy titles come from, but i'm glad you got a good laugh from it.**

 **Thank you my reviewers and my silent readers!**

* * *

Stupid, stupid me. I should've never given them my damn head, what the hell was I even thinking? Was I _even_ thinking?

Apparently not.

You probably either agree with me or you're scratching your head wondering why.

It's because of a little something called DNA you dolts.

I don't have time to educate you lots on what it is so here's the quick synopsis. Your mom and dad or whoever made you decide to one day have kids and f*ck like rabbits and you pop out. Have you ever heard people tell you that you either look like your mom or dad or whichever? Yea, DNA right there kiddies, the traits you get from your parents? Like your nose or your chin, or even the ugly as hell chink you get in your eye when you smile? You're stuck with it kiddo, no use losing sleep over it.

On the other hand, I'm about to go through a ton of sleepless nights running away with the popo on my heels and cursing the day technology was born.

However, i did get a kick out of seeing the battle harden police dance like their asses were on fire as they played a game of hot potato with my head. I would've burst out in a fit of laughter if i wasn't ready to shit my pants.

Seriously you guys should've seen their faces, they were wearing these panicked, i'm-this-close-to-puking-my-guts face as they flung my head at each other shouting, "you hold it!" "no! you hold it!"

Well, it was funny until they started shooting at me.

 **"STOP!"** pain explodes on my left calf and I tripped, my legs flap clumsily in the air and I crash land with my face smashing headfirst into the ground.

"Motherf*cking hell did you just bloody **SHOOT ME**?!" blood and fire pump through my veins and the pain intensifies as I try to push myself back on my feet. The agony lasted only for a few seconds when I felt the bullet lodged up my leg slide out of my calf. I watch, completely flabbergasted as the bronze-wrought cartridge oozed from my skin. It's like when you pop a pimple; the flesh splits opens up and out goes the shell.

Is it weird that I find it disgusting yet utterly satisfying?

I stare at my newly healed leg and look up to see the guy who had shot me drop his gun along with his lower jaw. His face turned a sickly green and he turned to the side to puke his guts out. Whether it was the awareness that my entire life was going down the drain, or the fact that I was an Ajin it didn't matter.

I'd already gone bat shit crazy.

I grinned at the hurling officer as i lurched up to my feet and my eyes caught my reflection on the nearby store windows; I looked like a homicidal serial killer with my wild hair and blood spattered clothes and fanatical smile. I raced forward and dove for the gun, my hands curled into fists and I lashed out, catching the poor guy in the nose. Blood spurted and I shoved his staggering body to the side, swiping the gun. Ear-shattering cracks shot over the clamor and I spun around just as another swarm of bullets embedded into my back. This time, I didn't stop, my heart pounding out my chest and I pushed on, ignoring the sensation of blood pouring down my back and dripping down my bare legs. The sound of each cartridge sliding down my back and bouncing onto the ground made me wince and I quickly dove behind a car, plastering my body against the body.

I need to find cover. I peeked to the side, frantically scanning around me. I spotted a small clothing store tucked not too far away between two larger departments and safely out of sight. Using the parked cars as a shield, I ducked and made my way toward it, not stopping till I slipped past the shuttered doors.

There was an elderly woman manning the front desk, she looked up, took one glance at my blood covered attire, and opened her mouth to scream,

 **"CLOSE YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"** I hissed and levered the gun at her head; there wasn't anyone in her store at this hour. Quickly, I pressed forward, gesturing for her to move out of the counter, "I need some clothes," when she hesitated, I jabbed the muzzle at her, "right now." She got down working; her frail hands shook as she picked her way through a rack. A pang stabbed at my heart and I felt my stomach heave; to point a gun at an aged woman who was probably scared out of her mind, I swallowed the bile in my throat and kept my hand steady.

"Hurry." She all but threw a couple of shirts and pants in my arms. I kept my eye on her as I stripped, hastily shedding the gown and dress. "Do you have a backpack and a plastic bag?" trembling hands handed me a drawstring bag and a grocery bag. I stuffed the soiled clothes into the grocery bag and packed the clean clothes into the other. She watched me with frightened eyes as I backed out the door.

I hesitated,

"I'm, I'm sorry. I'll pay you back." I didn't have the heart to raid her cash register. Without another word, I flew out of her store, slamming the door shut behind me.

I feel like complete shit.

Pushing the sinking feeling aside, I continued to run, keeping my eyes out and ears open for the sound of sirens. As my feet slapped against the pavement, a completely crazy thought struck me: I wanted my diploma. The beginnings of another grin tugged at the corner of my lips as the plan unfolded in my head.

How do you feel about crashing my graduation ceremony?


	5. Chapter 5 Remember the Poker Face

**Remember the Poker Face**

 **FuckinShitZoro: BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELT'S WE'RE GONNA DO IT! And i won't be held responsible for whatever J might do to you if you take that diploma of hers. I heard she's pretty violent ^^.**

* * *

It seems that the term "you only live once" doesn't apply to me anymore as I flagged down the nearest taxi and give him the address to my university.

"Are you heading to see the graduation ceremony?" for a taxi driver, he looks incredibly happy to see me as he punches the brakes for a red light,

"Yes I am." I don't bother to tell him that I was one of the people graduating until he turns on the radio,

"There was an Ajin sighting off the twenty-first street near the Gill's Grocery store. It seems that a graduate student was involved in an accident that should've led to her death, but according to reports and witnesses, she actually, "sat up without a single scratch on her." My heart freezes and I clutch tightly onto the bag and fix my attention to the tiny screen,

"Crazy eh? We've got another one of those freaks running around out there." My hands clench and my stomach flips,

"Y-yea they're getting pretty wild." The man snorts and eyes me with his rear view mirror,

"I mean, I guess it's pretty cool that those bastards can grow back their limbs like a f*ckin tadpole but I certainly don't envy the ones who become test subjects." Every single part in me screeches to halt and suddenly, I can't breathe,

"T-test subjects?" he driver catches the hitch in my tone and looks up again,

"Yeah, I've got a friend who keeps up with the gossip and apparently, the ones that get captured are carted off for scientific experiments or some shit like that." I'm barely able to stop my hands from trembling as I put on an uninterested face and nod,

"Cool." His eyes turn to the road as the news anchor continues,

"The police have filed a wanted report, stating that the suspect is armed and incredibly dangerous." There is a rustle of papers before the woman continues, "just a minute…I've got the descriptions. If anyone sees am shoulder length, red hair woman of Irish descent who looks about five four, and was last seen running down Twenty-First St wearing a Harvard University graduation gown, please do not hesitate to call the police. Special Forces and the Department of the Ajin Capture Unit are on the lookout for the suspect. Stay tuned guys; we'll be back with more updates." I resist the overwhelming urge to bawl my eyes out and simply bite the inside of my cheek. Holy shit how did this all happen? The driver lets out a soft whistle as he flicks on his blinker,

"Whew, that must suck for the poor woman." I stare at the back of his head,

"You have no idea bud." I mumble as the car pulls alongside the sidewalk. He looks at me expectantly as I slide out of the car. As discretely as possible, I dig deep into the plastic bag, thanking my lucky stars that I always keep a couple of dollars tucked somewhere in my pants…

Wait…I wasn't wearing pants this time.

F*ck.

My cheeks flush and I look up at the cab driver, the work "sorry I forgot" must've been written all over my face because he sighs and scrubs a hand down his face,

"I'll have to give you a ticket for this miss." He doesn't look too unhappy and I duck my head, completely embarrassed,

"Sorry 'bout that." I muttered and wait for him pull out the company's pad and pen. I quickly jot down my information under a pseudonym name and take the ticket from his hand.

"Try to remember the next time you hail a cab." I nod my head and shoulder my bag before making my way down the pavement and put on a burst of speed in time to hear a loud cheer rise up as the graduates are called pair by pair to walk up to the stage.

Did I forget to tell you guys my last name?

It's Sotiria.

Nice to meet you too.

The security around the track field here is pretty so I was able to sneak my way into to back entrance pretty easily. My ears caught the gist of the order: Ss. The professors have a clipboard in hand as the students each walk up to the steps. I suck in a breath and sprint across the field as name after name are called out.

Ignoring the gaping stares, I scurried toward the line, elbowing my way past raised eyebrows and bodies and dash up the stage just as my name is about to be called,

 **"SOTIRIA J-"**

 **"THANK YOU VERY MUCH SIR!"** I snap my hand out and grab the decorated paper in hand, dodging his stunned body and making my way toward the podium,

 **"I'D LIKE TO GREET ALL THE PARENTS AND FAMILIES AND PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT HERE TODAY TO CELEBRATE ANOTHER LIFE CHANGING MOMENT. IT IS AN HONOR TO-"** a blare of a foghorn overpowered my microphone as a wave of men dressed up to the chin in protective gear stormed through the gates and headed toward the stage,

 **"I ALSO WANT TO WARN FUTURE STUDENTS TO NEVER TAKE PROFESSOR SNAPPE'S CLASS! HE'S A NOTORIOUS SEXUAL MOLESTER! AND REMEMBER TO ALWAYS USE THE EVERYDAY WRITER IF YOU'RE ATROCIOUS AT ENGLISH! AND YOU CAN BARGAIN FOR A GOOD PRICE IN THE FOOD COURT! AND NEVER GO TO THE BUILDING IN THE WEST WING! IT'S HAUNTED!"** I took one more deep breath and shouted,

 **"AND DON'T BE AN IDIOT AND SCREW UP YOUR LIFE ON THE DAY YOU GRADUATE! THANK YOU!"** I leaped off, took a deep bow, waved at my awestruck professor, searched the crowed of faces and gave professor Snappe the bird and tore off the stage as the FBI flooded the stage.

Not a bad ending for a graduate with her Masters eh?

Trust me, shits about to get a lot worse.


	6. Chapter 6 A Mother's Agony

**A Mother's Agony**

 **I'm Back! On with the story!**

 **FuckinShitZoro: Of course she's going to ru- uh...nevermind, she ain't runnin anywhere just yet.**

 **WakaWakaDub: NOOOOO! Don't die yet! There's still much more for you to read before you leave this earth!**

* * *

Protective armor with the words SWAT stitched over their chests had me on the verge of heart palpitations as my feet slapped down onto the grass. I'd watch enough criminal shows to veer myself toward the crowd. My hair practically screamed **"I'M HERE. SHOOT ME"** but for once, I thanked my parents for giving me a small stature as I ducked here and there, dodging elbows and bodies, ignoring the resounding blast of the horn as I lowered myself down on crouched legs, making myself as small as possible.

They wouldn't dare shoot…pain exploded on my side and someone a few inches away from me suddenly screamed and collapsed onto the ground,

"You did not just f*cking-" I spun around to see a child grab his thigh with both hands, his eyes rolling, his body convulsed as he writhe and screamed and he tumbled off the bleachers and rolled onto the cement. Every part of my body wanted to continue to run as I felt the graze ebb from my body, the skin around the wound pulling itself together.

 **"MOMMY! IT HURTS MOMMY!"** Another wretched cry of a petrified mother ripped the air as a young woman threw herself over her son. Her face pale and ashen as she clutched her child to her chest and frantically looked around. Something inside me tore and my feet froze in place as I watched her mouth open and close in a silent scream as she rocked her child back and forth. Even worse, when her panicked eyes met mine, they twisted into a mixture of blistering hatred and a rage and fear so terrifying it was suffocating.

 **"HELP US!** " I cringed and my stomached rolled as I watched her angry expression crease into something akin to pleading.

Everyone was running, hell-bent on getting away.

No one bothered to turn around to help her.

Twin bullets sank into my chest and shoulder and I swayed, numb to the pain as the woman desperately tried to soothe her wailing child. My head spun as scenes flashed before my eyes, rooting me to my spot.

 _"Don't you dare lay your hand on her you bastard!" My mother, her face strained with overwhelming fear and sweat, gripped my father's wrist as she tried to fight him off from the crib,_

 _"It's this little no good b*tch's fault! If you never had her…" A ringing slap struck, sounding over the incessant wailing of the child,_

 _"Get out of my house this instant! Who do you think you are! YOU F*CKING BAST-" There was a choking sound and a gargle of blood and choked screams before the woman's body hit the floor with a silent thud._

 **"HELP!"** I blinked again just as the bullets slid out of my body only for another three to riddle themselves into my arms and neck. The mother's agony along with her wounded son's anguish ran a live wire of fury in my body just as the enforcers fell upon me.

They didn't care who they shot as long as they hit me.

The people were merely collateral damage.

Bile rose up my throat and my mouth twisted and I gritted my teeth against an onslaught of emotions that struck me. A rage so black it was debilitating burned the pit of my stomach and I spun around, drew back my arm, and lunged straight for the nearest man's visor. Dark matter prickled along my arms as I launched myself toward him. I didn't even notice the way my skin peeled and rippled till an obsidian substance oozed and flowed out of my forearm. I screamed as a twisted arm equipped with wickedly curved claws ripped itself completely from my wrist and raked its claws down the mask. With a loud crack, the screen cracked and shattered and the man behind the safety let out a roar of pain as the tip of the claws caught his eye.

There was a sickening pop and the tips withdrew and along with it, were the poor bloke's eyeballs, its nerve endings and veins still clinging onto the wildly rolling pupils. Liquid spattered my face as the man dropped to the ground and grasped at his empty sockets, his mouth dropped open in a piercing bellow. I watched as the extended version of my arm lazily rolled the eyeballs once before it flicked the orbs to the man's knees. We all watched with dropped jaws as the arm along with its claws gave one more indolent snap before it dissipated into nothing.


	7. Chapter 7 To Bite the Hand that Feeds Yo

**To Bite the Hand that Feeds You**

 **Another chapter incoming guys!**

 **Otakuxfanxgirl: It's such a shame that there aren't many Ajin fanfics out there for us to enjoy. Along with the sporadic updates, it's difficult to properly enjoy a manga when you don't know when it will update. I hope that my story would help put the impatience on hold ^_^. Thank you for reading!**

 **FuckinShitZoro: Yes i'm back haha! The man's eyes, unless he's an Ajin, are gone for good!**

* * *

Have you ever heard of Chinese exercise balls? You know, the metal balls that you can hold in one hand and rotate them around in your palm? Apparently, they're used to help recover muscle strength and aren't utilized to take headshots at people.

Now imagine the _thing_ performing the same action with the poor SWAT's eyeballs.

Who does that?

I stared at my perfectly _normal_ arm and looked up at the rest of the SWAT team staring at my arm as if it was a live hand grenade. There was the sound of multiple clicks of the locks sliding from their trigger fingers and I braced myself for a barrage of bullets.

It was a sensation of sliding through black sludge. The skin on my face, chest, stomach, hips, thighs and legs rippled as dark matter seem to ooze from every single pore in my body. I staggered back in shock as the substance clumped together in a clot the color of coagulating blood. As if gravitated and directed by an unseen force, these clumps drew themselves together, piecing each other bit by bit until I saw the beginnings of bandaged legs etched with murky lines and dusky shades form and take shape. Muscled thighs and a genderless pelvic gathered itself, the long and messy strips wrapped and looped around gangly hips and a stick thin waist followed by deformed ribs that surrounded a wide and empty chest.

It was a misshaped human with their skin peeled back and exposed.

It stood at a towering six feet five, blackened, skin-like bandages shifted to produce those claws that not too long ago, torn someone's eyes out. A neck peeked from the hole above the shoulders as the bindings continued to wind up. The head…or what was supposed to be a head looked some a man with a severe underbite used an insane amount of hair gel to support his wild mohawk.

Someone whispered something along the lines of "invisible monstrosity" and I shrank back as the creature twisted its head to face me. I flinched and tensed when the thing moved; taking two large steps and suddenly, it crouched, hovering right in front of my face. My breathing accelerated and my arms shook but I kept my eyes on its jutted chin,

"What the hell are you?" my voice cracked and I dragged my eyes away from the creature's chin and looked up.

There was nothing but a shadowed patch in place of its eyes. Jagged lines stretching from one swallow cheek to the other as the figure cracked open its mouth and the tip of its scarlet tongue darted out from between a serrated mouth. A hand lifted and three fingers folded, leaving the middle and forefinger protruding out,

 ** _"Who…you?"_** before I could even open my mouth to reply, blinding pain shot straight into my head as twin claws jabbed directly into my eyes. My scream blasted over the field as the claws dug into my head, wriggling around the twitching nerves before it pulled out, leaving bloodied sockets in place. Darkness and waves of fiery agony spread a line of fire into my entire body. The sound of nails onto chalkboard reached my ears and I realized that the tortured sounds were coming from my throat.

It was even worse when my body began to stitch my broken eyes back together. Every single fractured bone, from the thin paper plating, to the violently thrashing pupil, to the gelatinous coating were all painstakingly reformed and repaired.

I blinked away tears only to see the nightmare still sitting in front of me, its head tilted to the side,

 _"_ _ **Why are you still alive?"**_ It sounded honestly confused and reached out for me again,

"F*ck you." I spat and slapped the hand away, my fingers curled into a fist and I punched it, striking it directly in the face.

 **"PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"** The shields clamped together as the SWAT team stepped forward. The creature hissed and swung around, the lingering ends of the strips fluttered around its body as the thing let out another animalistic snarl and launched itself at the group.

Blood flew everywhere, staining the metal rails, splashing against the steel seats and dying the entire ground with saturated blood. Heads rolled, arms went flying and organs were being flung around in every direction.

Did I mention eyeballs were rolling around too?

I huddled close to the edge, curled in a tight ball, my hands over my ears, hoping to block the stench and the sounds of the men's dying shrieks. The ground underneath my body rumbled and shuddered as body after body fell to the ground.

Seconds later, silence ensured.

When I finally dared to look up, it was to see the thing standing directly over the hysterically sobbing mother clutching her injured boy to her bosom. It held its wiry arms up, claws splayed wide open. Blood poured down its body as it stood poised like a triumphant predator over what was the end of its prey. She wasn't staring at the creature though.

She was gazing directly at me.

My throat closed and before my brain could process anything, I was scrabbling onto my feet. All common sense flew out of my mind as I threw myself at the creature just as the arms swooped down. My chest slammed into its side and it stumbled, the claws raked against my back and I howled as my ribs burned.

 **"STOP!"** I shrieked and as the creature let out a wretched outcry as we collided headfirst against the bleachers. I watched as the thing's head fell against the edge of the bench, the bandages protested against the pressure and its head exploded. Without the weight of its body to cushion my fall, my arms fell empty and I crashed to the ground.


	8. Chapter 8 Gratitude

**Gratitude**

 **Yes, yes i know this is another stupidly short one so expect another update sometime today or tomorrow. I"m sorry for the lack of updates but every time i return to this, i come up empty...until today that is.**

 **Otakuxfanxgirl: brace yourself for another one!**

 **FuckinShitZoro: It definitely IS AMAZING. And the antagonist is simply a wicked genius**

 **reddevil47: I'm sad that there's not too many great fanfics on this wonderfully dark manga, hopefully someone will give this manga the recognition it deserves.**

 **Guest: (1) Yes it is definitely short. I apologize for that but unfortunately, this story isn't my main focus as explained in the first chapter. (5): What you say is true, the ajins themselves do sort of represent the more animalistic and barbarian side of humanity. I will agree with you that it is a bit cliche that the Government would so quickly discriminate people who have unwillingly become a host for Ajins but on the other hand, if the world comes to accept Ajins and get along with them...what would the exciting plot be? Hence the usual Ajin/demi-human vs the world. I for one, actually love Sato's personality, i haven't read a manga that has such a character so unstable and unpredictable and complex yet so simple as Sato. It's a puzzle piece i haven't been able to crack even though the truth is probably right in front of my nose. He's a writer's dream villian haha.**

* * *

 **"STOP!"** I shrieked and as the creature let out a wretched outcry as we collided headfirst against the bleachers. I watched as the thing's head fell against the edge of the bench, the bandages protested against the pressure and its head exploded. Without the weight of its body to cushion my fall, my arms fell empty and I crashed to the ground.

I was up on my feet running toward the woman, doing my best to ignore the throbbing pain as I crouched beside the huddled mother; I don't know shit about treating injuries. I was a business major for f*ckssake, you scrape yourself? Slap a Band-Aid on it and it'll be good in no time. This wasn't something you could pull a Band-Aid over. This was a job for the guy who stitches wounds together and subscribes pills for the pain.

"I-I have Tylenol." Of course you don't have that damn thing you idiot, you tossed your purse remember? I cringed as the mother's face twisted in anger and she pulled out her phone and dialed for the ambulance. A flurry of hysterics between mother and harried police ensued and she snapped the phone shut and returned to cradling her distraught child. I was sitting on my hands at this point. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to up and run at this point, but where was I going to go? I sure as hell couldn't return to my place- it's probably being ransacked by investigators.

"You should go." I don't know what my face looked like at that moment but I'm sure I looked pretty pitiful because her expression softened, "you don't look like someone who signed up for that life. You should leave before they come back with reinforcements." I hesitated,

"But your son…" it was a lame attempt to apologize for the mess I've created. The mother spared another distressed look at her son, "I've called the ambulance, they'll be here soon." She caressed her child's sweaty face, "thank you." Her gratitude hit me hard and the feelings I've been suppressing for the last twelve years surfaced.

 _Mother._

I squashed the emotion and quickly scrubbed a hand down my face, flicking away stray tears welling up my eye and ducked my head,

"Y-you're welcome." I mumbled before I spun around and moved for the exit as the distinct sound of sirens screamed close to the university.

 _Mother._ My back straightened as emergency plan number two popped up.

I should pay a visit to the woman who bore me and left me twelve years ago.

My mother lived in the States, over the seas and far away from where I am now. It would be near impossible to reach her without hopping a plane without purchasing a ticket. I stared at my stolen bag and my stomach rumbled; the government would most likely track any transaction I made so pulling a couple of hundreds from an atm machine might as well be painting a flashing neon sign on my head.

I don't have my credit cards with me either so that was a bust.

My fingers tightened over the straps of my bag; I kept a healthy stack of cash hidden away in a safe I stowed away under a section of carpet I cut out along with my fake identities and passports and birth certificates. I cringed at the thought of the police swarming my apartment; what was the chance of them finding my stash?

The choices were slim pickings; I didn't have even a single cent on me and I could think of no other way to escape.

Plus it's been more than four hours since I've eaten and I was f*cking starving.

Another thought snuck into my mind; I had a few close friends whose apartments situated a few blocks away from the university. I swallowed at the prick of unease; could I trust them?

Going home can wait; my stomach wasn't going to let me go any further until I had something to satisfy it. I picked up my pace, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone who could identify me. I yanked the hood up over my head and tucked my hair back under the jacket.

Do I look suspicious to you?

I hope not, people walk around in the afternoon with their hoodies up all the time right?

Five years ago, a dark brunette with the largest doe eyes I've ever seen plopped right down on the empty seat in the lecture hall and proceeded to talk my ears off.

She didn't even shut up even when I plugged my earbuds and turned my head away from her. The woman continued to jabber on until I tugged and earbud off and told her in the kindest way possible that if she didn't close her mouth, I was going to do it for her.

The nosey chit decided right then and there that by the end of the quarter, we would become something along the lines of "closer than peanut butter and jelly".

She wasn't wrong.

I loved that girl like she was my own sister. She'd drag my studying ass out the door every Friday night to go clubbing or bouldering or to entertain her crazy schemes. She cursed like a sailor, but had a better filter than I did, used her nails instead of fists, and could probably make even a rock shout at her with her incessant talking.

She was everything I could hope for in a friend.


	9. Chapter 9 Freeloading off Your Friend

**When You Freeload off Your Best Friend...**

 **As promised! Another update!**

 **reddevil: Thank you so much for understanding and being so patient!**

 **FuckinShitZoro: I'm sorry it was so short! I hope this one is a bit longer! Jay is going to be doing a hell lot more than just stealing food haha**

* * *

It didn't take long until I reached the front entrance of her apartment complex. Her widowed father of one was a stockbroker who had a knack for investments and could easily turn a promising prospect from a couple of hundreds, to a few thousands overnight.

That didn't mean her father shoved a silver spoon into his daughter's mouth and left her to the maids. Ever since day one, Riley Daniel Owens invested all the time he could spare in his daughter.

As a bystander, one could say it's quite an impressive feat for a single father with a demanding occupation to have such an impact on his daughter's life, but he did.

He whipped her into shape and forced her stubborn ass to work for every single thing. From the day Alexa was born, to the day she entered college; she climbed her way to the top through nothing but sheer grit and determination.

Unfortunately, Mr. Owens should've never taught his daughter how to speak.

I believe he soon came to regret that decision.

Hence the humble apartment Alexa stayed during her time at the university. She'd worked double shifts during her time in highschool over the summer to save up for off campus housing. You'd think that it is far too early for a teenager to be working toward such things but Mr. Owens thought ten steps ahead of everyone else. Everything fell into place after Alexa graduated from twelfth grade and bounced into college a year after my entry.

I gave the front desk a quick nod and a strained smile before I hunched my shoulders and did my best to keep my paranoid ass from going ballistic and yanking out the stolen gun and start wildly pointing it at people.

Here's the thing, I could only hold my paranoia for so long and Alexa lives on the seventh floor. Add to the cake that I'm claustrophobic and would rather suffer through my phobia than force a body that hasn't seen a gym for four years to hike the stairs and you get this.

A very suspicious woman who mumbles nonsense to herself while chewing on her nails and shooting glares at other people waiting in the elevator, at the same time, she's also itching to reach into her very suspicious bag.

The second the doors pull open, I'm out and ready to shoot down her door to get in. The chit would've probably clawed my eyes out from my relentless pounding if she didn't recognize me in time.

"Jayjay!" Dark chestnut waves piled high in a messy bun smack me right in the face followed by petite shoulders and a trimmed waist along with surprisingly toned arms wrap around me in a strangling hug. I'm a bit on the curvy side of the spectrum so squishing me doesn't exactly help my breathing.

The chitchat is the _only_ and I do mean **_only_** person who could outright call me Jayjay and get away with her life.

Do it. I _dare_ you.

"Can't…breathe…Alex." I gasp and she gives me another hard squeeze before she releases me and steps back.

When I say I'm out of shape, I _really mean out of shape._ See me with my hands on my knees and trying to suck air back into my lungs? Yup, beating on her door proved to be a real workout. That or the woman had successfully hugged the breath out of me.

"You're like a f*cking anaconda." I rasp and Alexa slaps the back of my shoulder laughing,

"How was the ceremony?" she pulled back and gives me a once over, "you did go to your graduation right?" I dig into my bag and pulled out the diploma and wave it under her nose,

"Of course I did." Alexa raised a slim brow and cocks her head,

"Riiight. Then what's with the clothe-" I interrupt her,

"I'm hungry; you have any leftovers in your pad?" I've been here enough times to make my way to her small kitchen and head straight for her fridge. Chicken Chow mien? Gimme. Stirr-fry? Hand it right over. Dumplings? I'll take that too thank you very much. I stuff as much as I dared into her microwave and set on the timer, counting down each seconds with an impatient tap of my foot.

For once, Alexa wisely keeps her mouth shut and waits for me to set everything in a neat buffet around me and dig in before she opens her mouth,

"What's going on." I avoid her bold stare and stuff a dumpling in my mouth, groaning at the taste. My stomach gives a happy gurgle and I stick another in my mouth. "Jay." I point at my mouth and give her a look: I have two dumplings in my mouth, there's no way I'm talking around a mouthful. Once the food clears past my throat, she jumps in,

"Jay-" I've already swirled a rather thick swirl of noodles around my chopsticks and shoved that in before she can get anything out. Alex glares at me and crosses her arms, "you're not wearing the dress I told you to wear last night, your make up is smeared all over your face, your gown is missing and don't think I missed the way you were f*cking shaking like a leaf when I hugged you." Her hands come down onto the table with a bang, "what the hell is going on." Alexa's expression creases in worry, "is it your dad?" I hold up my finger and quickly swallow,

"Nope, don't you go there Al." I chew thoughtfully around a broccoli for a second before I wash it down with water. "Did you hear the news this morning?" The skin on her forehead wrinkle and Alexa shakes her head, "turn on the t.v." still shaking her head, my friend turns and pushes on the small screen she has installed in the kitchen. The channel switches straightaway to a news station and a man in a suit, straightens out a small pile of papers while making eye contact with the camera,

"We've been updated by the investigators on the recent Ajin situation. So far, cameras have been able to pinpoint the target and according to eyewitnesses and students who recognize the suspect, the Ajin is twenty-three year old female J-" he coughs into his fist for a second, "Sotiria, a valedictorian graduating suma cum laude with her Masters in business." The woman sitting beside him whistles,

"Poor thing, she had such a promising future ahead of her." The blonde clicks her tongue and shakes her head in an act of sympathy, "police have paid a visit to Miss Sotiria's apartment only to find her absent. The search is currently still ongoing so keep an eye out and stay safe folks. Law enforcements have set up twenty-four hour call centers if anyone has sighted Miss Sotiria. If you haven't read up and studied on the do's and don'ts upon sighting an Ajin, head over to the Law department's website for more information." Alexa immediately switched off the screen and spun around, her mouth hung open,

"Y-You're an Ajin?" the words borderline a shriek and I threw my napkin at her head,

"Hush! You're too loud!" I hissed and she darted her head around her apartment before rushing to the open windows and yanked them shut.

"You're an Ajin?" the question flew from her mouth and I rubbed the back of my neck,

"Apparently." I muttered and she continued to gape, "don't look at me like that Al, I didn't know that either until today."

"H-how?" I blew out a breath and quickly summarize the morning's events. All the while, her eyes continued to increase in size till it takes up half of her face,

"Holy shit you're so f*cked." She breathes and glances around again and leans closer, "can I see it?" the blatant excitement in her voice made me blink in confusion,

"See what?" Alexa gestures animatedly at me,

"Your Black Ghost! I did some research on those things and I've only been able to see blurry photographs of them online." Her coffee orbs shine under the kitchen light, "but you can see it right? Since you're an Ajin."

"F*ck no! That thing is a f*cking walking psychopath!" I shuddered at the memory and resist from covering my eyes. Her eyes go wide again and she clasps her hands together,

"You've seen it?" I grimaced,

"Yes and I'm not bringing that thing out again. In fact, I'll make sure it never comes out again." Alexa pouts and I ignore her and return my focus to my food,

"So what's the plan? What are we going to do?" My heads shoots up and I glower at her,

"There is no _us_. I'm only here to freeload off of your food and I'm out." The stubborn mule glares right back,

"There _is_ an us the moment you stepped into my apartment. I'm going to be in as much _shit_ as you are once they find out you came here." She was right. My stupid stomach didn't think twice of the consequences and suddenly, it's difficult to swallow. Alexa raises her chin up to meet my eyes,

"Like it or not Jay, I'm going with you."


	10. Chapter 10 Birthday Suit

**Birthday Suit**

 **My mind is running away with so much ideas for this hilarious plot! So i'm going to be eeking as much as i can before it leaves me!**

 **I don't own Ajin, just my weird and quirky characters ^^**

 **FuckinShitZoro: Running away? Yup but they're going somewhere. I hoped I packed enough action and content to satisfy you though!**

 **otakuxfanxgirl: (8) Since I'm the author who likes to write as she goes along and clearly doesn't know what's going to happen in the future...I hope so too! (9) If you were to describe Alexa, what would you say about her? ;)**

* * *

"Like it or not Jay, wherever you're going, I'm going with you." Her smile is gleeful, "and not every Black Ghost follows their host's commands to the letter. Sooner or later, it's going to come out, and I'll force you to describe it to me." I rolled my eyes and stabbed at the half-finished stir-fry,

"It'll probably juggle your eyeballs too while I'm at it." I mumbled and pointed my fork at her, "and for the last f*cking time. No you are **NOT** going anywhere with me. I can't let go traipsing overseas with me." Alexa practically clapped her hands together with delight,

"Oooooh! We're going overseas! F*ck yes you are definitely taking me with you!" She does a fist pump and dashes to her room, "I'll pack a few things for both of us since I'm pretty sure you can't sneak into your house right now. Oh, let me grab my passport too," there's a pause, "shit you need a passport to hop a plane right? Nevermind, we should take a detour and head over to my dad's place first. He's got this sweet je-"

"Alexa Miranda Owens!" My fist smashes the table silencing her, "You are NOT going with me!" The chatterbox comes storming out, her expression a storm of emotions and she jabs her finger at me,

"I swore to you the first day we met that we were going to be closer than a dildo and a clit! I'm **NOT** leaving you-"

"It's peanut butter and jelly." She flips me the bird and tugs her backpack over her shoulder,

"Tomato, tomato same thing I'm your accomplice. We stick togeth-" her speech is abruptly cut off when the front door is riddled with a series of knocks,

"Miss Owens? The police are at your door, we've got a call from the front desk that Miss Sotiria has been seen passing into the apartment complex. Please open the door." Choking fear spears into my gut and my mouth suddenly goes dry. We send each other a panicked look across the table. The door pounds again, this time, there's a solid kick to the wood, "Miss Owens if you refuse to comply, we will have no other choice but to use force" There is a scuffle and a female squeaks,

"Sir you don't have to do that! I'll get the janitor to fetch you the emergency key." Her heels click over the linoleum floor and fades away as she hurries down the hall. In a snap, Alexa moves, her hands grab my wrists and I'm yanked out of my chair,

"Follow me!" she whispers and begins to drag me toward the laundry room.

"What are you-" all the breath rushes from my mouth when she jerks open the dryer and points at the hole, "hell no! You are not-" strong fingers press against my shoulder and I find myself shoved and stuffed into the dryer, "Al you-" I get a mouthful of her…bra? Clothes tumble into my face as a half-dressed Alexa piles as much clothes as she could into the drying.

Readers please do not attempt this at home. It is dangerous and clearly foolish but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Stay here! Don't make a sound!" Alexa throws me a wink, "I took acting 101. I've got this." She leaves the door partially open for me and slams the entrance to the laundry room shut.

There's the sound of stomping feet and the front door bangs open.

Have I mentioned how crass my friend is? Have I mention how much sass she has when she's thoroughly pissed off? Well…here goes…

"What the f*ck do you want." Her voice painted the picture of a woman interrupted from whatever she'd been doing and had every right to be pissed. From the way the men stammered and stumbled over their tongues to answer her, it was more than obvious that they were dumbfounded.

Alexa Owens wasn't strikingly pretty. If you passed by her on the street, you probably wouldn't bother to take a second look. It wasn't her looks that had men staring at her but the way she carried herself. She had confidence practically dripping off her telling the word that she had everything; the looks, brains and power in f*cking spades and she wasn't afraid to use them.

"M-Miss Owens? P-please dress yourself in a more a-appropriate attire." If it weren't for the clothes stuffed around me, I would've facepalmed myself.

The crazy b*tch greeted the police in her birthday suit.

Have I mentioned how much I freaking love her?


	11. Chapter 11 Happy Times

**Dropping by with another chapter!**

 **I don't own Ajin**

 **FuckingShitZoro: There's not good or bad review unless you're hellbent of giving someone a well written critique. In that case, you should head over to the Fanfiction forums to find some tips on giving reviews :)**

 **otakuxfanxgirl: Even though Alexa Miranda Owens' character had been hastily thought up and shakily put together, I'm beginning to see just how much potential she has. The cops would love her haha. yes she is quite shameless XD**

* * *

The crazy b*tch greeted the police in her birthday suit.

Have I mentioned how much I freaking love her?

"I think I'm perfectly fine with how I dress," her voice is shrill enough to break eardrums. There was a beat of silence before one of the men roughly clears his throat,

"Yes well…w-we apologize for intruding but we received a call from the front desk that you are a close acquaintance of Miss Sotiria. She's been seen going into this building so the front desk had assumed that she came to visit you."

"Jayjay is here? Really?" confusion colors her, "she didn't stop by my room though. I got a call from her a few minute ago tell me she- hey, hey **MY EYES ARE UP HERE**!" the sound of fingers sharply snapping in staccato has me fighting a giggle; it's not too difficult to imagine her reactions, she's like an open book of emotions.

"Ma'am, please put on some clothes, you're making it difficult for us to speak to you." the embarrassment in the officer's voice only served to further piss her off,

"If you hadn't so rudely interrupted my happy time, then we wouldn't be discussing what I should be wearing!" her foot stomps on the ground, "it's a f*cking free country! I'm allowed to wear what I want, f*ck who and what I want, and if I want to sue you for interrupting what was going to be a mindblowing orgasm, then you either have the money to compensate or you better start preparing the lube because orgasms are f*cking expensive."

There was a pregnant pause.

"I-if you don't mind, we'd like to search your apartment just in case-"

"Do you have a search warrant?!" I wince; Alexa is obsessively protective of her privacy. Her home was her sanctuary and a place for her to completely destress. Interfering with that tends to completely set her off…

"Miss Owe…"

 **"** **DO YOU HAVE A F*CKING SEARCH WARRANT?! BECAUSE I THINK THAT** ** _YOU_** **JUST WANT AN EYEFUL OF WHAT "HAPPY TIME" MEANS. WELL YOU'RE SHIT OUTTA LUCK IN THIS APARTMENT OFFICER. I DON'T F*CK STUTTERING COPS."** By now, any _normal_ man would be hanging his jaws out at her. Don't get me wrong Alexa Owens does have a filter.

Just not around the law.

"Miss Owens i-it's not that we don't think you're unattractive b-but..." the poor blokes were practically tripping over themselves to formulate a proper answer,

"What do you mean I'm unattractive?! I'm a f*cking catch!" She snapped and the men falter again, "If you're here to insult me after I've told you that my best friend in the entire world isn't here, then I'm going to-"

"W-we'll take our leave now. T-thank you very much for your time." Hasty boots scuffle the floor and reverberate down the hall before the front door slams shut.

As Alexa is pulling clothes out of the dryer, my nervous laughter surfaces and for the next five minutes, I can't stop laughing,

"You don't screw cops? What about what's his face, Albert? Alvin? The guy who threatened to handcuff you if you didn't stop trying to pepper spray his face?" Alexa snorted,

"He was an ass and you knew it. We both know I have poor taste in men." Her expression turns somber, "the police will be keeping an eye on me from now own. We need to get out of here." Her chocolate orbs peer up at me, "what's the plan?" From inside the dryer, I study her face,

"Al, You've got a bright future ahead of you. You're doing an amazing job at your intern and you're so close to your goal too." Her face crumbles and I grip her hand, "I don't think your dad would be too pleased to see you running around with someone like me especially now that I'm an A-Ajin." She helps me out of the dryer and tugs me toward her room,

"I wouldn't have become the person I am now without you either Jayjay. You've always been there for me whenever I needed you. Social life, midterms, finals, stress, my rants, you've listened and seen them all." Her fingers curl into mine and she holds me tight, "do you remember how to long it took for me to completely break out of my bubble when I met you?" She bent to pick up the dropped backpack and slung it over her shoulder, "Jay, I owe you so much for what you've done for me. This isn't something that can be repaid in a day." Alexa lets out a breath and straightened her shoulder, "I'm going with you."

When I shake my head again and open my mouth to retort, she pokes my shoulder,

"And that's not up for discussion. You'll take me with you or I'll follow you myself." Alexa holds out her hand, "I'm not going to repeat myself again Jay, what's the f*cking plan?" My eyes close and I grit my teeth; the chit wasn't playing fair and she was right; even if I were to leave her, she'd always find some way to trail after me.

On the other hand, the thought of running away alone to another country sounded quite daunting.

"Fine." I shook her hand, "I don't have many options but I was thinking of heading to pay a visit to my mother." Al's mouth parts open,

"Are you sure that's a good idea? The last time I asked about your mom, you called her an emotionless cow." My lips thinned as I helped her pack,

"My mother and I aren't on the best of terms but we get along well enough. I'm sure she'll help me." The first seeds of doubt take root in my body; she wouldn't rat me out would she? For f*ckssakes she's my mother! Alexa gives me a searching gaze and shrugs,

"Alright then, we'll go visit your mom." Her hands stop folding for a moment, "but you don't have your passport with you right? How are we going to sneak into the airport without a passport?" I glanced up at the clock nailed to her wall,

"I was hoping we could take your car later in the evening and drive to the building next to my apartment. There's an outside staircase that leads to the rooftop." This time, a stupid smile stretches over my face, "have you ever roof-hoped?" Alexa shoots me a dubious look before she grins,

"No but let's but do it!"

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12 Stair-Hopping

**Stair-Hopping**

 **Here's another upadate! Because classes are starting and my schedule is jam packed, I don't know when i can update again but i will try to post again when i get the opportunity! Thank you for you support guys!**

 **otakuxfanxgirl: Alas for now i don't think i'll be able to grant your wish for another round of consecutive updates. I apologize for that. I hope Alexa's personality will fit in with Jay's as the story and its hilarity continues! Thank you!**

 **FuckinShitZoro: You think so? XD Your reviews are fine, they fit with your reaction to the chapter so there's nothing wrong with it :)**

 **reddevil: Yes, yes Alexa for all intentions and purposes is a mad devil incarnate :) I need someone equally crazy and wild in this story and she happens to fit the bill haha.**

 **Guest: It is to be expected. But i do enjoy the concept immensely as this is something no one else has thought up of and you have to admit that the ajins are badass (did you read the recent chapter?) No character in that story's death was NOT without its own version of badassery. It's usually the case of the government being blinded to the fact that these superhumans have the ability to destroy the entire world and they need to find a counteragent to neutral and contain it, hence, the capture and dissection of ajins. I hope that my story in the end, even with its bouts of stupidity and craziness, will eventually unfold into a story you'll enjoy because i have every intention of showing just how wrong it is to go against demi-humans with psychotic animals living inside them.**

 **Until then, enjoy the ride!**

* * *

"I was hoping we could take your car later in the evening and drive to the building next to my apartment. There's an outside staircase that leads to the rooftop." This time, a stupid smile stretches over my face, "have you ever roof-hopped?" Alexa shoots me a dubious look before she grins,

"No but let's but do it!"

The next few hours were spent packing and planning. It's quite amusing when you find yourself scheming up a heist for your own apartment.

"There are three buildings that surround my flat. The one behind my building is the only one who has clearance to the rooftop. Unfortunately, it's a restaurant owned by an oriental family who lives on the upper level of the shop. So it's going to be a bit tricky reaching the stairs without them noticing." Alexa double checked her belongings and tugged at the straps,

"Want me to start the waterworks? That usually gets them moving." She tapped her chin, "or I could throw an adult tantrum or something." I waved her off,

"It's not necessary, there should be a ladder or something we can use to get onto the staircase." I frowned, "at least it was still there the last time to checked," Alexa glanced down at her watch,

"It's almost four Jay, we should get going." I nodded and zipped up my stolen hoodie before hefting my own pack over my shoulder,

"If we manage to retrieve my passport, we're going to have to ditch our wallets and phones, no technology for the next few hours." My friend pouted,

"You sure?" I raised a brow,

"Positive. If you're planning to stick around, trash your phone." She dutifully pulled out her phone from her pocket and stroked it,

"Good by my precious." She whispered, "We'll be reunited again someday." She flipped it over and popped the lid open swiftly pulling out the sd card, pocketed the battery and with a flick of her wrist, snapped the phone in half. "Done." She tossed the remains on the table and stowed the card and battery away in her bag. Another glance at the watch on her wrist and she locked eyes with me, "we're heading out now."

* * *

By the time we arrived to the restaurant, the sun had already began to set and the wind picked up its pace whipping my wayward hair away from my face.

Have you ever been to San Francisco? If you have, take a trip down to Fishermen Wharf and on the way, look at the way the apartments were built. Each floor is stacked right on top of each other and on the outside are levels of staircases connected to each floor.

That was basically how P. Chang's was structured. The first two levels were the main floor and the final two levels housed the man's entire family.

All twenty-five of them.

That's a shit-load of people living up there.

But that didn't discount the tempting smell that never failed to make my stomach growl every time I passed by. I've always had a fondness for Asian delicacies and P. Chang's dishes were nothing to joke about.

As Alexa slid her Camaro between a beat up Chevy, the pungent smell of meat and eastern spice wafted up my nose and sent my stomach into a complaining frenzy that had Alexa raising a brow,

"I should've known that orange chicken was the only thing that made you go straight." She joked and I shot her a scathing look in reply.

"Listen, the family is incredibly paranoid when it comes to people snooping around their restaurant. They'll probably think we're planning to snitch one of their generation long recipes or something." Alexa cackled,

"If you told me soon, I would've bought us a pair of ski masks and cut holes in them so we could complete the look too." She snickered as she locked the car and straightened her dark attire, "where to?" I pointed at the long wind of narrow stairs that led to the top of the roof. The only problem was that there wasn't a set of stairs on the ground, instead, a balcony hung three feet above our heads,

"Up." As soon as the word left my mouth, the bright and narrow light of what could only be a flashlight illuminated the area a few feet from where we were standing,

"Go! Go!" I hissed and like the athlete she was, Alexa darted off toward the building with my feet hot on her heels. The woman was truly from the primate family from the way she leaped into the air and grabbed onto the lower set of bars with both hands,

"Hold my legs, I'll pull us up." she whispered and I gaped at her as the light drifted closer,

"There's no way you can pull us both up, if anything, I'll end up yanking your pants down by accident and your ass is going to be up on T.V. tomorrow morning. No, you go first, I'll hide somewhere until they pass." The chit growled and kicked her dangling legs at me,

"Jayjay how many times have I told you not to underestimate me? Now grab onto my f*cking legs!" The sound of footsteps marching blared like a foghorn to my ears and without another thought, my legs snapped up and I wrapped my arms around her waist,

"Holy sh*t what have you been eating?!" Alexa gasped and her entire body went stiff as a board as she struggled to tighten her grip onto the bar,

"You entire fridge, now move! They're coming!" True to my words, the marched had picked up to a quicker stride and the light grew alarmingly close, in a few seconds, whoever the f*ck was patrolling the area would be upon us. With a grunt, I watched as a ripple of strength drew itself into Alexa's body as she, with a loud huff and a groan swung her legs –and myself- to gain traction and vaulted us over the rail nearly smacking my head onto the ground when she landed.

Just in time too, two pairs of legs turned the block revealing two officers decked in blue as they circled the block, their bodies passing just beneath us seconds from where we had been. Alexa had her hands to her knees, her breath blowing out like she'd just finished a marathon.

"Are you alright?" I quickly pulled out a bottle from my pack and handed it to her. In between sips of water, my friend stared at accusingly at me,

"I don't mean to insult you Jayjay but you gotta lose some weight." She capped the bottle and bent to rub her hamstrings, "I thought you were going to rip my thighs off." I smacked the back of her head and tilted my chin to look up at the next four flights,

"Oh hush you whiner, now all we have to do is climb. I can at least do that right?"

* * *

 **THANK YOU FOR READING!**


	13. Chapter 13 My Greatest Enemy

**My Greatest Enemy**

 **Oh my gosh I actually found time to update! It's a miracle! I'm sorry for the long wait but you have no idea how much work that's been thrown at me for the past six weeks! I've been pulling at my hair and staring longingly at my stories because of how badly I wanted to get back to writing. Now that I've cleared up most of them, I can finally sit down for the next hour and type this extremely short chapter up for you guys! Thank you so much for putting up with me!**

 **RetardedLaptopUser** : **I just noticed that you changed your Username, would you mind telling me why? I'm curious about the story behind it :) I'm glad you caught the notification before you went to bed though!**

 **otakuxfanxgirl** : **No** **I'm sorry for making YOU wait!**

 **Sad Person : LIVE! LIVE AGAIN AND READ!**

 **Shoetsu Otaku :** **I'm glad you're enjoyed the craziness! I can't wait for Season 2 to come out either! I really want to know more about Ajins!**

* * *

It laid quietly curled in a ball of black matter, tightly stifled and contained by the mental barrier of chains. Everything around it was immersed in the soft flesh of what it perceived to be its host's flesh and skin.

In its confinement, it examined the sharp talons affixed at the ends of its fingers and toes and ran a palm along the wild mass of bandage-like matter that formed its head. That same hand felt its way down to what was considered to be a face. However, when the hand passed seamlessly down, the lack of uneven junctures of noses and mouth left it quite…puzzled.

 _I do not have features like the ugly creatures outside._

Down the hand went, exploring the muscular contours that defined its shoulders and chest. With a talon, it traced the firm lines of coiled strength that lie beneath the thin skin.

 _I am…powerful._

Flashes of those razors tearing through soft flesh and spatters of blood that stained the air and himself formed the beginnings of a wicked grin to split open its face. A hand reached up to feel the jagged edges of its mouth.

 _I have a…mouth._

Curiosity had it stuffing a finger past the rough cavern only to jerk in surprise when a long tongue unraveled from inside followed by even sharper weapons; fangs.

 _I have…teeth._

A thorough inspection left it smiling even wider. Satisfied, it returned to its former examination and continued down to the empty gap between its thighs. A flash of memory its host appeared before sightless eyes: long hair the color of darkened blood, curvy body, soft, soft delicate and pale flesh that he could very easily coat in saturated red. Up close, he caught a glimpse of her trembling mouth: plush pale rose on the bottom and thinner on the upper lip.

 _Female._

Four long fingers snaked down and cupped the vacant area and waited for a label. When none came, it asked.

 _I am a…?_

Silence was its answer.

* * *

Do you remember Po in Kung-fu panda? There was a scene I never forgot and it was when Po stared up at the set of stairs looming before him and declared it his greatest enemy.

This would be the first time I've ever agreed with a f*cking panda.

 _"_ _I can't go any further! Leave me here and run!" I gasped and Alexa shook her head, tears flooding her eyes,_

 _"_ _I will not leave you here to die!" she clasped my hands to her chest and knelt beside me, "we'll die together!"_

In reality…

"Move your lazy ass you pig! What happen to that squat challenge and those exercise videos I sent you four months ago? Did you watch them?"

"Of course not!" I huffed, "I have a life outside of the gym and sweaty armpits you know." My arms shake as I gripped the iron support slick with perspiration. Everything aches; my arms, my thighs, my lower back, my neck. Even my eyes throb when I look at the miles of stairs left ahead of us.

"Miles…" I groaned. I don't even have the strength left to yelp when Alexa swats my ass,

"One more flight Jayjay. Come on, you can do this" I sag listlessly to the side and tap and hands forming a T,

"Time out! Time out! I need a break!" I protest when hands shove me back up,

"We're almost there J." her prodding isn't helping my temper and I shove back at her,

 **"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT MY GREATEST ENEMY IS?"** the chit does an eye-roll and urges my exhausted feet up one step,

"Wasabi and positive encouragement. Now let's go." I growled and force myself to climb up another flight before I'm complaining again,

 **"IT'S STAIRS! HAVE YOU SEEN THE SIZE OF THEM? WHY DIDN'T THEY BAN THEM FROM HUMANITY?"** Every tiny bone imaginable is screaming profanities as I haphazardly teeter my way up the last few steps before I collapse in a boneless limb, **"I'M DONE. I DON'T CARE IF WE GET CAUGHT. YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO DRAG MY DEAD BODY TO MY FUNERAL."** My head lolls to the night sky and I raise my hand toward the starless pane of darkness, "and thus, with a kiss, I die." I whisper.

"Get up Romeo, Shakespeare said "f*ck you he wants his dagger back to kill himself instead." A toned hand all but yanks me back up to my feet. Alexa steadies me when I staggered to regain my balance and takes another swing of the bottle before she hands it over,

"Where to?" I sucked down the rest of the water and walk till I'm nearly at the edge of the building. Peering over to the other side, I catch a glimpse of two or three police cars parked around the vicinity of my apartment. "Give me a few minutes to catch my breath and we'll jump" I point a finger to the three and a half feet gap between the two buildings. Alexa stands beside me and crouches down to measure the drop,

"What happens if we fall? Is there anything that will catch us?" I shake my head,

"There's nothing down there but garbage cans and whatever the restaurant throws out." She whistles and braces her hands against her bent knees,

"So basically if we fall, we're f*cked right?" I give her a thumbs up,

"Yup."


	14. Chapter 14 Wei fcking Chang

**Wei f*cking Chang**

 **Holy moly it's been awhile since i've posted! I've been bogged down with such a heavy workload i was forced to put my stories on hold so i could finish them. I'm almost done with my workload guys! Thank you for your patience! I also lost my usb drive containing all of my stories so that really dampened my mood. Luckily i had a backup drive ready for situations like this but i wasn't able to update it was frequently. I will get right back to writing and sending out stories in roughly 2 weeks time to once again, thank you so much for patiently waiting! I'm sorry for the long wait! As a thank you i posted another chapter for you!**

 **Red raspberries: Thank you! The black ghost will be making more frequent appearances** **soon!**

 **RetardedLaptopUser; That's very very true! I'm fine with you using that :) Thank you for telling me :) I had to pop open my entire keyboard to clean out the inside and stupidly got one of the keys stuck TT_TT. Fortunately it wasn't an important key so all is fine and well!**

 **WOOTY GUEST:"** THANK YOU PADFOOT FOR LETTING US HAVE ANOTHER CHAPTER OF YOUR WONDERFUL FICTION"

 **I see what you did there ;) clever, my friend very clever.**

* * *

I point a finger to the three and a half feet gap between the two buildings. Alexa stands beside me and crouches down to measure the drop,

"What happens if we fall? Is there anything that will catch us?" I shake my head,

"There's nothing down there but garbage cans and whatever the restaurant throws out." She whistles and braces her hands against her bent knees,

"So basically if we fall, we're f*cked right?" I gave her two thumbs up,

"Yup."

"In that case," she took a giant step back and did a dramatic sweep of her arms completed with one of the deepest bows I've ever seen, "you go first." I stared at her outstretched arms for a second before following the line of her arms and stare at the cavern that seem to grow larger before my eyes. It might be a few feet apart but for all I care, the gap might as well be the f*cking Grand Canyon.

"W-why don't you take a shot first eh? You're the athletic one." The chit looked up from her bow and shot me a saccharine smile,

"The thing is Jayjay, I happen to be _very_ breakable. _You,_ my friend, aren't anymore." She peered down over the edge of the building, "I don't have a lot of room for error Jay, if I jump and land wrong, that's it I go splat." She reached out and gave my shoulder a little nudge, "so you can be the test dummy for us. You go first." I'd completely forgotten about my immunity to death. It's going to take a lot of falls to shake the fact that I wasn't exactly killable any longer. I sucked in a breath and balanced the soles of my sneakers –courtesy of Alexa – on the concrete-roughen brink and tried to squint at the other side. From our vantage point, the few street lights that were lined on the sidewalk didn't reach the top of the restaurant.

Here I was, at seven at night, staring at the adjacent building that was my apartment with only the light of the moon to guide me. There was a railing about half my height barring the rooftop of my apartment building meaning I was going to have to perform some miraculous feat of Tarzan without his warcry and leap like a f*cking monkey and with some luck, be able to latch onto the bars that were a quarter to an inch thick.

"Here goes…" My heart pounding in my throat, I braced myself and bent my knees just as a hand wrapped around the neck of my jacket and yanked me back so suddenly I screamed.

"Shhh! Someone's coming up!" Alexa's cold fingers dug into the nape of my neck as she all but dragged me behind one of the large ac compressors. There was the sound of the door that led to the roof from inside the restaurant opening as laughter accompanied the slam of the door.

"Did you watch the news today? Apparently your neighbor is an Ajin." The pungent smell of smoke wafted over the compressors and I held my breath,

"Her name's J, and yeah I saw. Mom was going crazy shouting about demons and bad luck on the restaurant because of her." Peering over the strongbox, I saw that their backs were turned but I recognized the familiar dark brown locks slicked back and tapered down and tipped blond white. Any other day, I would've lobbed something like the gun I tucked into my backpack at that hair-gelled f*cker but tonight, I crouched and contemplated the possibility of committing first degree murder.

Wei f*cking Chang, the libidinous and magnanimous prick who aims to go further than the Chang's precious joint, the one who decided one day to choose his seat next to me and bestow upon me his own dissertation on our History of Herodotus elective. He also happened to be the f*cker who made it his right to reach out, grab my hand and place it right over his crotch while answering to the professor, "The Egyptians placed phallic objects in the temple of Hathor, goddess of love, or figurines of Bes, the dwarf god, with a disproportionately large member. Herodotus, _Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt,_ page 12." One parting wink at me and he turned back to the front of the class.

I'm sure you readers know how that turned out. Let's just say Chang was lucky his desk was big enough to cover his thighs because I did a lot more than squeeze him that day. Alexa's hand wrapped around my twitching fingers, her expression pleading,

"You'll get another chance but not tonight." She whispered fiercely as I tried to burn holes into the man's back with my eyes.

"Just give me one shot," I hissed as I turned to yank my bag open and she began to tug me back toward the edge,

"Look, you either head to your room which is like four flights away or you stop by and kick his ass for shits and giggles. Your choice." I stared longingly as Wei stomped the last of his cigarette out before he and his companion headed back downstairs,

"I heard from someone that she let you f*ck her at the end of the semester. Is that true?" Wei's chuckle had me spinning for my bag's zipper,

"Yeah, she wasn't that good of a f*ck if you were wondering. The woman's cunt was like a block of concrete." The gun was halfway out of the bag when Alexa tackled me to the ground slamming me against the compressor with a loud bang.

"What was that?" we froze as the echo of footsteps halted,

"Probably a cat or something, c'mon, my mom wants to say hi before you leave." The air left our lungs in relief,

"No Wei, that's too loud to be a cat." The thud of shoes slapping against concrete had us in full blown panic, "someone's up here with us." Alexa's face had paled to a chalky white as she glanced down at me,

"What do we do?" she whispered and I clenched my teeth, my mind whirling.

I grabbed her face and pulled her closer till her nose was inches from mine,

"Do you trust me?" she swallowed and nodded her head frantically, "just play along alright?" she stared at me in shock and before I let my nerves get the better of me, threw caution to the wind and kissed her.


	15. Chapter 15 Two Times the Charm

**Two Times the Charm**

I'm back from another grueling semester! Thank you for patiently waiting! I'm now well rested and ready to get back into writing!

 **Red raspberries: Thank you! I hoped you enjoyed it!**

 **RetardedLaptopUser: the work has been back breaking but it was worth it. I still haven't found my USB but i won't give up the search! I hope Jay didn't take it! She probably try to blackmail me into making someone else be the Ajin's host or something haha.**

 **Faiika: Did you like it? Did you like it! I'm glad you found my story amusing! To save your sanity, here's another chapter i cooked up! I hope your dog's ears are okay.**

* * *

"Oh ho? What have we here?" We immediately broke apart and spun around to face Wei with his arms crossed, his mildly surprised expression did nothing to cover the flash of shock as his friend laughed and looked at him,

"Speak of the f*cking devil, it's Ju-" I lunged and my fist lashed out and nailed him straight in the jaw. He stumbled back with a howl as Alexa hooked her arms over my shoulders and began dragging me back toward the edge of the roof,

"You f*cking b*tch!" He bellowed as he took a step forward only to be barred by Wei's arm,

"Sotiria, you are aware that there's a bounty on your head right?" I shot him a blistering glare and grimaced,

"So what?" I spat as that infuriating smirk on Wei's face appeared making me itch to pull out my gun and blow a hole in his face. He glanced at my frazzled appearance and looked at the backpack halfway off my shoulder,

"I assume you're in a hurry to go somewhere?" He slid his hands into the pockets of his jacket. When I said nothing, he continued, "Perhaps you're planning to escape?" His pulled his right hand from his pocket and produced the very thing that could set the cops on our ass, "they promised a pretty penny if we found you." He dangled his phone in front of us and I felt Alexa tense, preparing to flee, "the Ajin Capture Unit is paying enough to give me a full ride and a recommendation letter for my PH.D." his sadistic grin had me clenching my teeth as I balled my hands into fists,

"Are you threatening me?" I demanded as I felt that familiar prickling sensation dredge up my arm. Panic struck at the same time the thought of hurting Alexa during the process of revealing the psychotic ghost had me squashing down the urge to kick the pompous f*cker's ass. His white teeth flashed under the dim lighting as he shrugged,

"I might be willing to negotiate." I snorted,

"Since when have you ever negotiated without screwing someone over in the act?" I jabbed a finger athim, "you've always been a pathological liar Wei. For the record, I'm a great f*ck! You're just the one with an unfortunately tiny dick according to the last woman who ditched your bed for your roommate's." Satisfaction bloomed in my chest as I watched a streak of red slashed across Wei's face and his friend stopped trying to shoot daggers at me with his eyes and turned to look at him,

"Seriously? So Claire wasn't pulling my leg? Man that's gotta suck so mu-" he doubled over coughing. I grabbed that opportunity and ripped myself away from Alexa and leaped forward backhanding the phone from his hand,

"Go!" We booked it for the ledge. Our legs pounded against the concrete as Alexa let out a short scream and threw her body off the roof. She landed on her knees and rolled to the side, nearly tripping in the process,

"Come on Jay jump!" she shouted and I inhaled as the tip of my sneakers touched the ledge.

And I made the biggest mistake of my sorry life.

I looked down.

Readers, you _never_ look down when you're about to do something extremely stupid, especially if you have acrophobia and you're about to hurl your body into an empty gap of space and time. The second my eyes found the vacant chasm and recognized the reaper looming overhead, every muscle in my body went slack as my legs executed a sloppy jump.

I screamed and stretched my wildly flailing arms, feeling the tips of my fingers press deep into the very edge of the brick roof.

"Alexa!" I shrieked as my grip lost its precarious hold and I felt gravity hungrily grab at my dangling legs yanked me down.

* * *

Something touched its mind. Panic, blindingly terrified and utterly petrifying fear scorched through its body as the Ajin uncurled from its position.

 _Host…woman…_ it stretched its arm forward, reaching through the darkness and fisted its claws around the now loose chains that restricted it.

 _Danger…_ with a vicious wretch, the bonds snapped and the Ajin lunged at the light gaping open from amidst the darkness. Its limbs unloosened and unfurled from their fetal position as dark matter encased its body and the Ajin launched its body into the light.

 _Woman…my host is in danger…_

* * *

Out my wildly grasping hands, pitch black matter streamed from my palms and fingers creating a thick, opaque cloud that spread and billowed outward. Emerging from the swell the familiar underbite jaw and bandaged wrapped figure jutted from the cloud as a pressure of muscle and tendon locked tightly around my wrist. A loud clang and screech of nails digging into metal pierced the air as my body abruptly jerked to a sudden stop. I cried out as sharp talons clawed into the skin of my wrist and my shoulder slammed painfully into the brick wall.

My heart in my throat, I tilted my head back and for the first time, came face to face with the nightmare that was about to save my life for the second time in a row. My breath shot out in short gasps as it leaned forward and parted open a set out jagged rows of what looked like its mouth. Horror lodged my throat and I flinched when a long a forked tongue flicked out between its mouth as it tasted the air beside my cheek,

 ** _"_** ** _Host…female...human,"_** Fear drenched me in a pool of sweat as the very tip of the Ajin's tongue trailed a sheen of saliva down the line of my jaw, " ** _very soft."_** It rasped.

My stomach lurched and I jerked my head away from it. I did everything I could to avoid staring at it in fear it might try to poke my eyes out again.

"Help me." I continued to hang suspended as the Ajin lapsed into a moment of silence as it continued to examine me with an aura of inquisitive curiosity. My voice had long gone hoarse from my screams of fright and the pain in my throbbing shoulder wasn't helping,

"Please, help me." I pleaded as it tilted its head down from where it dangled me.

 ** _"_** ** _Why shouldn't I kill you?"_** there was no hint of malice in the basilisk tone, just honest pique that made me think of a mentally deranged child,

"Because," I swallowed, struggling to wet my parched throat, "because I'm your host and if I die, you'll die too." There was a pause before it let out something akin to a laugh that sounded like sandpaper rubbing against each other,

 ** _"_** ** _I will not die."_** It bared it's teeth in clear distaste and bent down till its faceless head nearly pressed against mine. My chest tightened and I barely stopped a scream from tearing out of my lungs as the Ajin split open its maw revealing every single wicked fang and pointed canine in its mouth.

 ** _"_** ** _I have never eaten a human before. I wonder how will you taste?"_**


	16. Chapter 16 Two Hearts Too Many

**Two Hearts Too Many**

 **I'm back with another one!**

 **RetardedLaptopUser: Honestly, I never know what will come next for this story. So whether or not our J will be A-okay after this will be up to...whatever sparks my imagination. I wish that were true and my couch ate the usb but when you happen to lose it on campus...well...let's just say there's no couch eating this time. :(**

 **Faiika: THANK YOU! My aim is to please madam :) I update quite sporadically...sorry haha. It will depend on my schedule and how free i am to write. As for a pairing between J and Kei...let's just say considering their personalities, J would probably end up killing the guy not to mention the huge age gap between them haha but in the end, i won't be able to give you a solid answer because i don't even know what's going to be in store for this story. So buckle up and enjoy!**

 **Red raspberries: don't we all love cliffhangers? Haha**

* * *

 ** _"I have never eaten a human before. I wonder how will you taste?"_**

I hate pain. I have no tolerance to pain of any level and I've experienced more agony today than I've had in my entire life. Being eaten by a psychotic nightmare would the icing on the deranged f*cking cake.

I had no doubt that it was really contemplating on eating me – and not in a good way mind you awkward f*ckers – from the way its inverted triangle tongue was whipping about. My entire out-of-shape body throbbed from being strained for so long the soft muscles along my shoulders shrieked in pain. I felt the strap of my backpack slip off my shoulder and immediately began reaching the zipper just as the shouts of Wei and his friend reached our ears,

"You're going to get carted off you cold-blooded b*tch!" the idiot's friend looked as if he was ready to climb down the building himself just so he could get even. However, the picture of Wei with his phone held to his ear and a satisfied smirk on his face had every ounce of rage shooting through my veins,

"I've never liked you much anyways, you've always been a pain in my ass. Do you know what happened when my family found out that I didn't receive the scholarship and letter of recommendation and my chubby neighbor did?" his grin of triumph morphed into an ugly scowl, "my mom damn near flayed the skin off my backside because of you!" My cheeks burned in anger and a hiss escaped the Ajin who had finally noticed the two asshats. Without a word, it swung its arm up and suddenly, I was flying onto the roof of my apartment as it launched itself at Wei.

The guy never saw it coming as the Ajin jabbed two claws in each of their faces and pulled out their eyeballs with a sickeningly resounding pop. Before they could even process the pain, the Ajin raked its claws straight down Wei's face and cracked its jaw open to take a whopping bite out of his friend's head. For a split second, nothing happened.

Four lines of blood dribbled down Wei's cheek and trickled off his chin, he lifted his hand and reached up to touch the blood rolling off his face,

"What-" he never got to finish his sentence when a fountain of scarlet red spurted out of the man's eyes, face and body. His mouth opened to scream as his body was rented into pieces and he collapsed as his face and torso split apart and dropped in cleaved chunks to the ground. Beside him, his friend let out an ear piercing cry of horror as the section from his temple to his lower chin ripped away from his face and his knees gave way with a bone cracking shriek as his chest and the contents of his stomach were gouged open. Another excruciating crack gave way to a petrifying display of the Ajin crouched over both of the men's body, its hands prying apart the men's ribs and with both hands, plunged into their chest cavity and drew their still beating hearts out.

Pumping organs in its hands, the Ajin sprung off the building and landed directly in front of me, its lean body tense with a hum of dark and excited energy. Alexa's whimpering yelp told me she was seconds away from bawling her eyes out as the Ajin presented me Wei and his friend's heart. Blood spattered inches away from my shoes as the nauseating smell of iron and blood filled my nose.

I couldn't take it any longer. I spun to the side and wretched out everything I had eaten. Shaking, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and froze as the Ajin stepped closer. My stomach revoltingly churned when it handed me one of the hearts,

 ** _"_** ** _For you."_** It's voice had dropped to a chuffing purr much like an overgrown lion and I immediately scrambled back,

"G-get that t-thing away from me!" my own chords were borderlining a hysterical shriek as it crawled further toward me, its hand extended further as the almost affectionate vibration deepened to a warning growl and I froze, my entire body locked down in shock. It wasn't till the Ajin shoved the heart at my face when I finally broke down and hurled again to the side. The black ghost stared at me, its head tilted to the side as it darted that long tongue out again to taste,

 ** _"_** ** _Eat it."_** My head spun and I stumbled back onto my ass. This was too much. I couldn't handle the overwhelming monstrosity any longer,

"P-please don't make me eat it." I croaked as the Ajin knelt down in front of me, the organ still held out to me. As my own tears and Alexa's sniffling filled the silence, the Ajin regarded my trembling expression with an expectant regard before it nosed one of the pieces of flesh in its hand and shoved them both into its mouth.

 _I'm going to hurl._ Amidst the wet crunch of teeth meeting heart, I heard Alexa's own dinner leave her stomach as I continued to stare as the Ajin used the back of its arm to wipe off the dripping excess of blood. My body went dead in fear as the black ghost began to edge toward me. It didn't stop till its entire body hovered inches over mine.

The Ajin waited a beat before it peeled back its jagged mouth revealing long canines stained crimson. The tongue peeked out to lash saliva down its fangs, cleaning them. A wolfish grin filled with teeth stared back at me as the Ajin pressed closer, the long dreads of bandages fluttered down its shoulders and settled on my chest and the tongue laved a wet line down my tear-stained cheek,

 ** _"_** ** _You should let me out more…host."_** The arms beside me melted down into obsidian matter and I let out a scream as the creature collapsed into me, its body turned into liquid and sank into me.

I felt it then, a brush of nothing but pure evil against the back of my mind and a whispering hiss coated with longing and layered with sardonic pleasure filled my ears,

 ** _"_** ** _Till next time then…"_**

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Feedback is much appreciated!**


	17. Chapter 17 Madhatter

**Madhatter**

 **I'm back with another chapter! It took me awhile to figure out what was going to happen next because I clearly don't know how this story will turn out.**

 **Red raspberries: oh i did reader i just did :) but i will put you out of your misery and give you another chapter!**

 **RetardedLaptopUser: Haha that gave me a good chuckle. J's Ajin...well...i do have some obsene plans for that thing but for now, rest assured that Alexa's head will be still on her shoulders...for now at least haha.**

 **Faiika: Ahhh it's always the psychotic little bastard characters that we love the most. I hope your little brother is safe from reading this piece of work haha. Make sure to hide this story from him!**

* * *

 ** _"_** ** _You should let me out more…host."_** The arms beside me melted down into obsidian matter and I let out a scream as the creature collapsed into me, its body turned into liquid and sank into me.

I felt it then, a brush of nothing but pure evil against the back of my mind and a whispering hiss coated with longing and layered with sardonic pleasure filled my ears,

 ** _"_** ** _Till next time then…"_**

It left me gasping and clutching my chest for breath as my heart pounded a frantic rhythm.

"W-what…what the hell was that?" Alexa's stammer washed over the roar of blood in my ears and I shakily shove myself up in a sitting position,

"H-hey, are you okay?" Alexa is crouching a few feet, her mouth parted open and her cheeks sallow. She nods at me without a word and gingerly scoots over to sit beside me,

"I-I saw you flying in the air and Wes and his friend yelling at you and…and…" her hands trembled as she tucked her knees close to her chest, "God Jay, there was so much blood..." her shoulders shook and she squeezed her legs tighter, "Jay, there was something hovering in front of you…was that…was that…" her voice faltered and she stared pleadingly at me, "please tell me it didn't try to give you…that…" I exhaled heavily and sucked air into my lungs, praying for sanity,

"That was the Ajin," my voice was barely above a whisper and Alexa whimpered,

"I guess it's a good idea you didn't decide to introduce me to it," she whispered. We stayed silent for a minute till the sound of sirens forced us to move.

"We need to go," on trembling legs, we stumbled onto our feet and made our way to the staircase. Alexa's hand clutched tightly onto mine,

"You alright?" her voice was low and I gave her a small nod, "we're almost there. We just need to nab your passport and some of your things and get the hell out of here." Our bodies tense, we crept our way down the stairs till we reached the door that led to the third floor.

We stared at the door, both unwilling to open it,

"What if the police are on standby outside?" I hesitated and gripped the doorknob just as Alexa grabbed my arm,

"Hold on, let me go first, that way it'll take some time before they recognize that I'm your friend." She nudged me to the side and reached for the door. Her chest rose and fell with her breath and she warily peeked her head out for a moment.

"There's no one down the hallway but they did put caution tapes all over your door." She tiptoed forward and beckoned with a hand, "stay near the door, I'll go check it out." I squeezed her wrist,

"Be careful." She threw me a short nod and I held my breath as Alexa snuck on bent knees and stressed arms and made her way toward my room. Her body maneuvered over the warning tape and for a second, she disappeared from my sight. My lungs did not release the air I held till I saw her chestnut hair appear again. She quickly scampered back to where I crouched,

"Good news, they didn't post any officers in your apartment. Let's go grab your things and get out as fast as we can." Tightening my grip onto my backpack, I prayed with a loudly beating heart that the neighbors next door wouldn't hear the squeak of my sneakers over the linoleum floors as Alexa cautiously lifted the tape and made a gap large enough for me to squeeze through.

"I'm sorry Jay, but I think they took Tommy," Alexa soft voice made my heart clench and my nails dug into my palm; I loved the little hellish furball to death and facing the realization that the sole joy that made sure to greet me every day when I arrived home was gone was a hard pill to swallow.

I breathed out a silent prayer and straightened my shoulders and quickly headed for my bedroom where I began to search in darkness around my mattress for a seam that felt different from the material of the bedding. My wandering fingers skimmed over a thread and with the point of a scissor, I slashed into the fluff pried open a section of the bed. With two fingers and my tongue between my teeth, I withdrew a thin bag filled to the brim with cash: moneybag number 1.

Flat on my stomach, I crawled under the narrow space beneath the bed till I reached the very corner of the carpet. With the scissor, I punched through the thin material and cut out a square hole no bigger than my fist. I had a key I always wore around my wrist, with it, I unlocked the safe stowed inside and pulled out a plastic bag containing my passport and other fraud identities I had created over the years. Reaching back down, my hand came out clutching another small bag i had stuffed with bills: moneybag number 2. Alexa released a low whistle and I folded the carpet back into place and scooted out,

"Let me grab a few pairs of clothes and we'll get out of here," She nodded and as quietly as possible, I pulled open the drawers and rifled through my clothes. Behind me, Alexa went through my bookshelf and made a noise of disgust,

"They took your memorabilia, I'm pretty sure there are pictures of your mom and I in it," Alexa muttered something that sounded obscene and turned to look elsewhere. When she let out another expletive, I looked up, "Jay, they took your camera and laptop too," Alexa whispered and I cursed; there went any option of erase any photographical and online evidence that revealed any information about my whereabouts. I tugged the zipper down over my pack and stood up,

"I'm done, there's nothing else I need. We're outta here." The second I stood up, my backpack – my heavy and very bulking backpack- knocked over the bedside lamp that so happened to mark the end of my f*cking life. I watched as the thing, in slow motion, headed for a crash-land to the floor when Alexa dove down, her hands desperately spread out to catch the vase foundation.

It landed in her hands.

I breathe out a sigh of relief…

Only to gasp when the f*cking thing _bounced_ off her palms because fate decided to f*ck me over and put magical rubber under it and the vase smashed onto the ground. Alexa hissed and shielded her face with her arms as glass spattered in all directions.

And the sirens, the _f*cking irritating_ sirens began to scream as the pipsqueak of the neighbor's two dogs sounded out a caterwaul of barking that tripped whatever alarm the police had laid out,

"Jay you idiot! We're getting out of here!" We sprinted for the windows and I shoved it open only to look down at the boatload of familiar vehicles spinning a dizzying color of blue and red.

"We're so f*cked," Alexa moaned and I began clambering out, "What the hell are you doing? They're going to shoot our asses as soon as we step out!"

"They're not going to shoot you. They'll be pointing their guns at _me."_ I gripped the stark, cold rails and sucked in a breath before pulling out the gun I strapped securely to the side of my pack, "I'll distract them and you head up, the buildings surrounding use should be close enough for you to jump across." Alexa frantically shook her head and tugged at my arm,

"No! We go together." I whipped my head around to shoot a glare at her and shoved at her up the stairs,

"I'll be right behind you as soon as I make sure they have their sight on me. I don't want you to get your ass shot up." At least my ass can at _least_ look normal after bullets had gone through it; that was a morbidly comforting thought.

For a long second, the woman whom I was proud to call my best friend in the entire f*cking universe gazed at me, her bottom lip the only telltale tremble of her emotions.

She nodded,

"Call the Madhatter out. Maybe it'll be able to help us out of this mess." I winced as she began to ascend the ladder: of all times to joke around she chooses to do so now? Alexa stopped halfway up the rungs and twisted around,

"I'm not kidding Jay, call it out. I won't move until you take it out again," her dark eyes turned pleading, "I know I sound completely insane but you have to admit, it really saved our asses when Wes was about to call the cops." I blinked.

And blinked again.

Shit…as much as I hated it, she was right.

The Psychotic Madhatter, I found the name…quite… apt.

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 **Comments and Critiques are much appreciated!**


	18. Chapter 18 Reverse Psychology

**Reverse Psychology**

 **I'm on fire today! I've done some story planning - in my head of course- and I think I know where to push this story! Let's keep our fingers crossed that I'll be able to put out as much content as I can before my break ends!**

 **WOW! We've reached 50 reviews already? Thank you so much for your comments and your thoughts!**

 **Faiika: Yes, i've decided to give it a name other than recycle through other titles. I had to look up for insults that i could call the black ghost besides crazy bastard haha.**

 **Red raspberries: I hope you'll be thoroughly entertained as the story continues. Thank you!**

 **Ryohei S: I wasn't expecting it either to be honest hehe but i'm glad it turned out well.**

 **RetardedLaptopUser: You think it's a good name? I had in mind for Tommy to be a dog since dogs do enjoy destroying everything in sight - a bored dog is not a good thing- but i do understand why you would draw to those conclusions. Happy New Year!**

 **A Quick Key for you All Before it Gets Confusing:**

 _Italicize: Jay's dialogue when she mentally speaks to the Black Ghost_

 _ **Italicize and Bold: The Black Ghost's dialogue both mental and out loud**_

Normal Font: Dialogue spoken out loud

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The Psychotic Madhatter, I found the name…quite… apt.

From below, an officer pulled out a megaphone and spoke into a handheld speaker,

"Miss Sotiria, you are a danger to the citizens of New York! Please step down and we won't open fire! The Department of Ajin Capture Unit has been notified! Do not make it more difficult for the sake of your friend and everyone in the building!" My mouth thinned as Alexa hissed,

"Don't listen to those asshats! They're f*cking shitting in the pants because they know they're sitting ducks as long their back up isn't here!" I steeled myself and took a firmer grip onto the gun,

 **"** **GO Alexa!"** I yelled as my hand yanked the gun high in the air and I released a gun shot that had the police ducking behind their vehicles just as the squad behind the first layer opened fire. My body automatically twisted and I fought the mounting urge to scream and hide like any sane human being. From afar, I heard Alexa shout my name as I raised my arms just as a bullet pierced my forearm. I cried out as I felt the skin around it begin to shrink tightly together till the magazine popped out. Two more whizzed perilously close to my head and I pressed myself flat against the window, scrambling to find a way to escape.

In desperation, I spun around and dove back into the window, my hands quickly slamming my bedroom door shut, my fingers turning the lock and I began shoving as many furniture as I could in front of the entrance. I wedged the back of a chair beneath the handle and secured the bed, cabinet and desk right after. Just as I finished, the ominous thundering of footsteps had me whirling around to see the door to my bedroom was slammed into and I flew back with a gasp.

"Hurry! She's getting away!" I raced to the window and peered down to see another group of officers climbing the stairs,

"Jay Come on! They're going to surround us if they reach the roof!" Alexa's warning had me cursing up a storm as I grabbed onto the ladder and began scaling up the rungs only to feel fire shoot into my shoulder. Every nerve ending howled in pain as I grabbed my shoulder and clenched my teeth only to slip as another bully embedded itself into the back of my thigh,

 **"** **F*CK!"** I screamed as I felt my grip onto the metal bar loose its hold and my torso unsteadily swung, smacking my strained back straight into the ladder. With a groan of agony, I bit my tongue till blood pooled in the back of my throat and continued to move through the blinding pain.

 **"** **JAY!"** Alexa sobbed. Her dark hair hung in agitated strands down her face, her expression a twisted mess of tears and bleached white in fear as she made a move to climb back down,

 **"** **STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"** I bellowed as I forced my aching body to go up.

It was then when I felt the black ghost's mind brush along mine when I all but stopped where I stood,

 ** _"_** ** _Is it time?"_** the silky hiss sent a bolt of dread streaking down my spine and I swallowed rapidly,

 _"_ _No! I can handle this."_ There was a raspy chuckle as the creature wrapped itself around the link and if it was possible, encircled my mind till its voice boomed in my head,

 ** _"_** ** _My host is deliberately exposing her body to injury."_** The black ghost curled its upper lip, revealing a wickedly sharp fang, **_"That is unacceptable. I reside in this body."_** The creature the proceeded to retract its limbs till it crouched in the recess of my mind like a coiled sprung.

 _"_ _Stop it!"_ I made a lame attempt to chain it only to have the link snap it apart like a twig,

 ** _"_** ** _You do not have any control over me."_** The words came out in a debilitating snarl as the black ghost bent its knees, **_"I will do as I please."_** With a piercing rumble, it stretched out those devastating claws and lunged forward, breaking through the light and into the mortal plane. As black matter streamed out of every pore in my body, I threw out my arm and tried in vain to dissipate it with my hand,

 _"_ _You're going to kill everyone here you psychotic bastard!"_ as Madhatter took shape, the black ghost's words were more or less sadistically tempered in malice as it laughed,

 ** _"_** ** _What does it matter? You should be grateful that I cannot kill you."_** Madhatter peeled back its lips and cracked open its jaw as it stretched, **_"I do not like staying inside your puny head for so long."_** I was on the point of forming a retort when the door finally broke beneath the weight and the law enforcement swarmed in. I wasted no time in scrabbling up the steps,

"Fine! You deal with them!" I snapped out loud as the black ghost grabbed one of the rungs and with a swing of its hips, launched a long and thick tail around like a whip. The appendage smashed into two of the men clambering out of the window and sent them flying off the balcony. With an atrocious grin and a blasting shriek, the black ghost lunged forward, its claws slicing through flesh and bone as it tore into the room, the tip of its smooth tail flicked much like the tail of a cat as screams of horror reached my ears just as I reached the top of the building.

"Jay!" Alexa grabbed my arms and squeezed me so hard I winced as her form shook in relief, "holy shit! Are you okay?" she inspected my shoulder, "there's no wound," her eyes widened, "how is that possible? Is your skin some type of impenetrable armor now?" I snorted and shook my head,

"Didn't you hear me scream? No, the skin healed after the bullet fell out." I shrugged her off and started for the next roof, "where did we park your car?" Alexa pointed to P. Chang,

"We have to run back down there," Dismay colored her tone, "but we won't make it before they catch us." The loud whir of two helicopters flying overhead had our heads tilting up in to shock to see two beams of light hit directly over our bodies. It was only then when the echoed shouts from the stairwell snapped us into motion,

"Run! I'll figure something out!" Without another word, our terrified hearts pumped another burst of adrenaline into our veins as we hotfooted back to the Chang's building,

 **"** **MOVE! MOVE!"** The entrance that led to the roof burst open just as Alexa leaped over the ledge,

"Don't look down!" she yelled and I sucked in a breath and threw myself forward. My hands hit the ground running and Alexa pulled me up from the concrete and urged my sore body into action, "keep going!" Seconds before we reached the staircase, I grabbed her and yanked her toward the very edge of the building,

 **"** **WE'RE GOING TO JUMP!"** Alexa spun to give me a look that asked if I'd lost my mind,

"It's a four story building! Are you trying to kill me?!" I clutched her arm,

"Just trust me!" She dropped her head to look at the distance between our bodies and the unforgiving asphalt, inhaled deeply, and gave me a curt nod,

"Okay…we'll do it your way. But if I die, I swear I will haunt you for the rest of your f*cking life!" My stomach did an apprehensive flip as I balanced the heels of my shoes onto the precipice, aware of the shouts behind us,

"Get ready!" I reached out in my mind for the black ghost,

 _"_ _We're about to jump off the building next to you. Can you catch us?"_ there was radio silence on the ghost's end for a second before the malicious voice touched my mind,

 ** _"_** ** _Why should I? You're not going to die if you hit the ground. I'm busy enjoying myself right now."_** I blew out a hard breath as Alexa shot me a nervous glance,

 _"_ _So are you telling me that you're playing around because you don't think you can catch us in the first place?"_ In a split second, the creature's voice stiffened to sharp points,

 ** _"_** ** _Is that a challenge?"_** There was a sliver of warning behind its tone that had my legs shaking,

"Yes." I whispered, in mind and out loud as we stepped off the building, gravity immediately took hold and hurled us at a neck-breaking speed to our deaths. In my head, the black ghost chortled and from the distance, over Alexa's bone jarring scream, I heard another round of gun shots firing and a chorus of wails as a dark figure heaved itself off the building and came diving towards me, its arms spread out and blood flying off its extended claws. The wind pushed into its mouth displaying a terrifying row of teeth as the Madhatter grinned,

 ** _"_** ** _Challenged accepted."_**

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 **THANK YOU FOR READING! COMMENTS AND CRITIQUES ARE APPRECIATED!**


	19. Chapter 19 A Game of Inches

**A Game of Inches**

 **I'm so sorry for the long wait!**

 **Red raspberries: updated as per request!**

 **Ryohei S: Thank you!**

 **Faiika: We're all insane as it is. The more the merrier :)**

 **RetardedLaptopUser: Either way, none of the options are favorable and they're definitely NOT going to be okay.**

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 _"_ _So are you telling me that you're playing around because you don't think you can catch us in the first place?"_ In a split second, the creature's voice stiffened to sharp points,

 ** _"_** ** _Is that a challenge?"_** There was a sliver of warning behind its tone that had my legs shaking,

"Yes." I whispered, in mind and out loud as we stepped off the building, gravity immediately took hold and hurled us at a neck-breaking speed to our deaths. In my head, the black ghost chortled and from the distance, over Alexa's bone jarring scream, I heard another round of gun shots firing and a chorus of wails as a dark figure heaved itself off the building and came diving towards me, its arms spread out and blood flying off its extended claws. The wind pushed into its mouth displaying a terrifying row of teeth as the Madhatter grinned,

 ** _"_** ** _Challenged accepted."_**

Having someone on their way to save your ass from impeding death would usually bring about feelings of immense relief and even adoration toward said savior.

Having Madhatter leaping off a four story building and come flying down with its maw gaping open and arms cranked back like it's getting ready to tear into you…well…let's just say it didn't bring up any expected reactions.

"I HATE YOU JAY! ACTUALLY! I DON'T HATE YOU I JUST…NO, I TAKE THAT BACK, F*CK YOU FOR MAKING ME DO THIS!" Alexa's petrified scream jerked me out of my fear and I glanced up only to feel a sudden blast of pain shoot straight up my chest as my hand was ripped completely from Alexa's death grip and my entire vision flickered.

 ** _"_** ** _Got'cha."_** Beyond the black haze wavering over my eyes and Alexa's terrified cry of alarm, I felt my body screech to a sudden stop as the defiance to gravity flung me into the air for a split second before I was dangling three stories from the ground. My abdomen was burning a hell of pain and I glanced down to see the tip of Madhatter's obsidian tail curved upward and protruding from my stomach.

The crazy f*cker had not only caught me, it impaled me.

I seriously don't think the author gives me enough credit for making me do all of this while I'm completely unmedicated.

Feeling the strength drain from my body, I tugged weakly at the black ghost's tail and kicked,

"Catch her!" Both of Madhatter's hands gripped onto a railing as it hung from the balcony. Mad tilted its head toward Alexa and said nothing. More matter flowed out of my body and I lashed out once more before I dropped, exhausted,

"Please, I can't live with myself if she died because of me." I whispered. A full, maddening heartbeat passed when I felt the entire world around me spin in a dizzying flip as Madhatter withdrew and threw me over its shoulder before it launched itself off the rail and dove down.

 ** _"_** ** _You owe me."_** Mad streaked down the wall, bounding off the partition so fast my heart flew to my throat as a scream tore out of my mouth. I watched as Mad's tail whip out the very last second and wrapped around Alexa's waist just as its arm shot up to catch the building's last rail.

Alexa's body dangled a mere six inches off the cold concrete.

My entire body sagged in a form of nothing but pure relief. I was too busy replaying the near death scene of my best friend in my head to worry about who I was hanging over. My ass was unceremoniously dropped and I immediately rushed toward Alexa and grabbed her in a fierce hug,

"Do I get to check off 'going to hell' on my bucket list?" she croaked. I let out a wobbly laugh as my eyes welled up,

"Idiot. You can't go to hell without checking off your f*ck-it list first." She returned the embrace with equally trembling arms before pulling back with a start,

"Jay! What happened to your shirt?!" I looked down to see a hole the size of my palm gaping through the thick sweater,

"Um…it tore when I was falling down?" She lifted her brow in disbelief and opened her mouth to make a comment when the sound of gun-shots and a clamor of sirens rang close. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mad's head turn toward the sound and beginnings of that familiar sadistic grin settled on its mouth,

 ** _"_** ** _I'll be back,"_** with a sweep of its tail, the black ghost darted off on clawed hands and feet.

"My car is parked down there, let's go!" our steps still off kilter from the drop, we stumbled our way into the car and Alexa slammed the door and cranked on the engine, "and we're out!" the streets weren't as filled as before when Alexa checked her mirrors and peeled out of the space and quickly merged herself in front of a large pick up, "we're heading to my dad's place and take his jet out to your mom," she glanced at me, "shouldn't you let your mom know we're coming?" I snorted,

"I lost contact with her a few months ago, the last time I spoke to her, she was still in the same area." Alexa grimaced,

"So do we take my dad's jet? She's still living in Los Angeles right?" I shook my head,

"I don't want to get your dad involved Alexa." I squeezed the contents in my bag,

"We'll use the money I've stashed up and get us a couple of plane tickets to California," Alexa opened her mouth in what I knew was an objection and I glared at her, "no, you're not going to pay for your ticket, they saw you with me so they'll be keeping an eye on your transactions to so there goes your credit cards." She slumped a little and I knew she was mourning the loss of her money,

"It's a bit late for you to back out." I reminded her and she nodded glumly,

"I know." She blew out a sigh and straightened, "to the airport it is then."

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 **P.S. Did anyone notice the cover? ;)**


	20. Chapter 20 Parking Spots and Mr Chewy

**Parking Spots and Mr. Chewy**

 **I had a good laugh writing this chapter. Thank you for waiting and i hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Red raspberries: Thank you! Mad Hatter would never ever be nice and any way or form and it's equally enjoyable writing about him.**

 **Faiika: I did make the cover art! I had some time on my hands and decided to try to encapsulate the story with the art. Don't fret dear, there are more in store for them as you read!**

 **404 rorrE: Yea i agree, having two last names should not make up a complete name. Well, it's too late to change it now but i don't think it will be necessary.**

 **RetardedLaptopUser: Thank you! Mad is insane, of course we'd expect him to do something that resembles his name: the unexpected.**

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I hate airports. There's literally nothing you can do but plant your butt next to the nearest outlet and pray that the sockets will fit your charger because you're ultimately f*cked if you have to twiddle your thumbs for god knows how long until your flight is announced.

Then there's the Baggage zone. I've been nearly arrested before for carrying a plastic knife, the ones you find in the take-out food all wrapped up with a spork and a napkin? Yea, that's the one.

Well guys, that wasn't the thing that got me detained in a holding cell. When they found the knife, they took it away and gave me the evil eye and began to really dig and I do mean _dig_ through my luggage. And guess what they discovered tucked away under two pairs of bras and four pairs of socks?

A bomb.

…

Of course wasn't a bomb you idiot, it was an alarm clock in the shape of a bomb that Alexa had gifted me saying "when it wakes you up, it's going to sound like someone dropped a nuclear weapon onto your bed."

I was never late for class after that.

Unfortunately, the officers weren't so amused with my explanation -hey I thought it was funny as hell- and kept me behind bars and sitting on a hard plastic chair till Alexa came and picked me up.

The little shit didn't stop laughing her ass off even as they escorted me out of the airport. To this day, I'm sure there are pictures of me on the internet somewhere.

It was our luck when we arrived, that the airport was packed full of people walking so fast it was as if their life depended on it. Road rage cars honked and screeched over the chaotic noise accompanied by the distant sonic boom of planes taking flight from the landing strip.

"Remind me again why we can't take my dad's private jet?" Alexa complained as we searched for a place to park. "I forgot how hellish it is to find parking- **OI! USE YOUR F*CKING TURN SIGNALS DUMBASS!** " She laid on the horn and pounded the flat of her palm against the steering wheel, "I hate it when people don't use their turn signals! It's like they don't know the thing that stick out of their steering wheels are for us to know when they're turning!" I gripped the handle near the car's ceiling that I now dubbed, the OH-Shit! handle and hung on as she made a sharp right to avoid a large sedan.

"It's like having a car. Your name is licensed under that car, if they catch us and identify the plane, who are they going to trace the owner's name to? That's right, your poor dad is going to get dragged into my shit and that's the last thing I want to happen." Alexa's shoulders drooped only to stiffen up when she suddenly jerked the car over a lane,

"Aha! Jackpot!" Squeezed between a -well f*ck me, a fruit truck- and an Escalade was a space that was barely wide enough to fit her Camaro. I looked up and my eyes caught the glint of another vehicle who was already heading toward the same spot,

"Um…Alexa, I think someone saw it too." Alexa risked a glance over and her eyes narrowed,

"I'm not going to waste another hour looking for a parking spot. **THAT SPOT IS MINE**!" She flicked on her signal stomped on the gas and the Camaro leaped forward. As if the driver had already anticipated her reaction, the Chevy revved its engine and my stomach lurched as the meter jumped to 50 and we were streaking toward the empty space.

At this rate, one of us was going to take the spot and the other would crash if neither of them stopped. The time bomb for imminent death ticked closer as we headed for a collision course with the parked truck,

Deja f*cking Vu.

"Alexa!-"

 **"DON'T WORRY I'VE GOT THIS!"** Alexa's hands spun the wheel at the very last second and the Camaro twisted sideways, the car screeched as tires burned and smoke billowed from the tailpipe as the Camaro drifted right into the empty spot and slammed into the sidewalk barrier, tilting the car to the side before gravity smashed us back down with a heavy thump. My temple and shoulder hit the window on impact and I cried out as the seatbelt dug into my chest, abruptly cutting off my breath. The Chevy squealed as owner mashed onto the brakes and the vehicle jerked to a stop inches away from the Camaro's body.

 **"SCOOOREE!"** Alexa did a fist pump and raised her arms up laughing manically. She turned to look at me with a wild shine in her eyes, "that was exhilarating, right? I told you I'd get it!" She was still grinning as I groaned and released the seatbelt,

"Never again," I gasped and stumbled out of the car; I wouldn't be surprised to see another collection of bruises appear on my side,

 **"HEY LADY! THAT'S MY SPOT!"** The burly man we had raced poked his head out of the window, his face flushed red as he got out of his car and stormed toward us sporting a beard and looked to be in his early thirties. I cringed the second he stepped out of his truck; the guy was just massive, he had to be at least four inches over six feet with arms the size of tree trunks. Right now, making him angry was the last thing any sane person would want to do, he could probably put a dent on the car with his fist,

"Yea? I don't see your name on it." Alexa hissed and she stepped up till she was nearly nose to nose with the man. The adrenaline was making her reckless and I knew she was seconds away from using whatever she learned in judo to try to knock the man on his ass. I made a move to stop her and froze; there was no way the guy wouldn't recognize me and alert the authorities, my face was plastered everywhere on the media.

Burly man had his hands on his waist as he jabbed a large finger at her car,

"I've been driving for twenty minutes looking for a spot! The space you just took!" he huffed and crossed his arms, "I have somewhere I need to be right now." Alexa snorted and folded her arms, unwilling to budge,

"So do we." I squeezed my eyes shut at the silence that followed; they were having a staring contest.

A f*cking staring contest readers.

"Alexa we gotta hurry or we won't be able to see Mr. Chewy before he goes." I stuffed my hair into my jacket, flipped the hood and kept my head lowered as I walked toward her while injecting panic and tears into my voice. Burly guy's eyes lowered,

"You visiting someone?" I nodded, head still down,

"Yea, we had to find a doctor who specializes with the disease that our hamster has and had leave him in California. We just got a call to day from him that Mr. Chewy didn't have long to live." I sniffled and my lower lip wobbled and I clasped my hands together, "please don't give us a hard time, we're hoping we can fulfill his last wish and see him before he goes to Hamster Heaven." Alexa hiccupped and wiped at her eyes as her shoulders shook and she wrapped and arm around me,

"Shh, Shh it's going to be okay, we promised Mr. Chewy that we'll make it in time to see him right?" I whimpered and nodded,

"He was such a happy hamster, I wish I could hold him one more time and tell him I love him." I blubbered and was about to force another sob when I heard someone sniffling.

I risked a peek and my jaw nearly slammed onto the asphalt.

Burly man was crying, tears poured unchecked from his eyes and disappeared into his beard and he wiped them with the back of his checkered sleeve,

"You must l-love Mr. Chewy very much to send him away." He shook his head and took a step back, "I'm sorry for keeping you, please keep the spot, I can find another parking space." He gave us a smile that changed his angry demeanor immediately and headed back into his truck with a wave, "please give Mr. Chewy my condolences when you see him!" I barely stopped myself from flat out gaping as the Chevy peeled away with the smell of burnt rubber and exhaust.

"Did that just happen?" Alexa gawked and she stared at me, her jaw flapped open. "he actually bought your ridiculous story." I blinked and turned to look in the direction of the Chevy,

"I…I almost feel bad for lying to him." I muttered and Alexa shook her head chuckling and turned toward the car,

"Whatever, we got the spot thanks to you, now we need to figure out a way to get inside without being arrested the second we step through the door." I gave myself another shake and followed her back to grab our luggage.

Mark my words, the airport is one of the places where you'll meet the most interesting people.

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 **Thank you for reading! Please leave a critique of comment if you enjoyed it!**


	21. Chapter 21 Bloody Apparitions

**Bloody Apparitions**

 **I apologize for the very late update! I had a hard time working on this story and searching for ideas!**

RetardedLaptopUser: **That's one of my pet peeves haha! Jay's got a quite...vivid imagination hehe.**

 **Faiika: I'm glad that the ideas are pleasing! I try to be as original as possible because we all know that somewhere out there, that idea has long been claimed and patented lols. Now, now, i can't say much but i did try to sneak in a few things that resulted in me being caught redhanded before...but that's a tale for another time.**

 **Elaine du Lac** **: Yea i wanted to toy with the format a bit but i'm glad i decided to revert back to the traditional way to writing. Thank you very much for reading!**

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"Leave the gun in the car." Alexa noted as she helped pull another hoodie over my head to cover the hole in my sweater, "there's no way we can get past the screening if they catch you with a gun." I heaved my backpack over my back and cracked my neck,

"The only problem we have is the money I took from my apartment. They'll get suspicious when the x-ray catches such a large amount." Alexa's expression turned somber as she worried her lip over the situation,

"Do you…do you think Mad can sneak our luggage over to the plane for us? Like if he holds our bags, he can sneak it past security? The public can't see him and I'm pretty sure the cameras won't catch him either." I frowned her,

"You're kidding right? The sadistic bastard would rather watch us get caught and laugh." It was hard enough to handle the insane f*cker, let alone try asking for a favor. For the sake of trying, I tentatively sent out a thought,

 _"_ _Uh…hello? You in there?"_

I wasn't surprised to receive nothing but radio silence after a few seconds.

"Figures, he's not answering." Alexa sucked in her lips and blew out a breath,

"Okay, we'll just have to play it by ear and hope that we can at least get a toe past the gates. Keep trying Jayjay, we might need him." Bags slung over our shoulders, my hood securely tucked over my head and my hair tied and stuffed down my neck, we quickly stepped into the thick of the crowd and boarded onto the escalator. I immediately dropped my head and did whatever I could to make myself as small and inconspicuous as possible, cursing the fact that we were trapped in one of the tightest security fortresses in the world.

"Stop fidgeting, you're making yourself look suspicious," Alexa hissed and I dropped my hands; I hadn't noticed.

I exhaled and shot a nervous glance around the area; we were heading toward the airline desk when the corner of my eye caught a baggage handler wheeling a cartful of luggage to one of the terminals. I elbowed Alexa and tilted my head toward the worker,

"Any chance of us impersonating one of the staff?" Alexa took one look at the man's turned back and gave me a maniacal grin,

"Perfect." She grabbed my hand and we began a casual stroll and weave around the airport, hightailing it for the lavatories. Instead of entering the restroom, I veered off into the waiting room and took a seat. Alexa blinked,

"What are you doing?" I shrugged and got comfortable,

"Waiting." It didn't take long. Either luck was on my side or my prayers were answered because in walked two female staff members. The second the door to the bathroom swung shut, I grabbed the handle and held on tight,

 _"_ _HEY! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! WAKE THE F*CK UP!"_ Barely a second passed when the mental link was slammed so hard it felt as if someone had stomped onto my head. Mad's grating hiss filled my ears,

 ** _"_** ** _Woman…I'll give you something to scream about if you keep that up."_** He presented an image of my body rendered into shreds and split his mouth open in a massive yawn. I caught a flicker of what was stored inside my body.

Amidst the dark matter shifted around, the Black Ghost held suspended in the air and chained. The coils were wound tight around his torso and waist. Two bands clasped around his wiry biceps and encased around the upper portion of his head where his eyes would be was a band of obsidian matter. However, with all the suppressions, none it could mask the enormous amount of lethal aura the crazy f*ck emanated. I suppressed a tremor,

 _"_ _Would…would you like to come out now?"_ There was a pause,

 ** _"_** ** _Being let out twice in a single day? How generous of you."_** It seems that sarcasm was not lost on the creature as the Black Ghost stretched out his arms. The chains creaked. Inside the sound of a stall opening alerted me that one of the workers had finished her business,

 _"_ _I'm not asking you again. Do you want to come out?"_ Mad sniffed and his long tongue whipped out,

 ** _"_** ** _Let me out human, you've been keeping me entertained so far."_** I couldn't contain a small scream from burst past my throat at the sensation of teeth dragging themselves lightly across my throat. **_"As long as you keep me happy, I'll play along with you,"_** the tips of his fangs tapped against my jugular, **_"we don't want to find out what happens when I get bored do we?"_** The Mad Hatter's raspy chuckle slithered through the mental link as black matter began pouring out of my hands.

"Jay, what are you staring at?" Alexa turned her head toward the empty space of air at my shoulder, she stiffened,

"He's out?" I nodded and gritted my teeth just as the handle I was gripping onto began to turn,

"Hey! Did someone lock the door?" The metal handle jiggled and I tightened my hold, "Wendy! Call the janitor for the keys! I think we accidentally locked ourselves in." I frantically looked at Mad and jerked my chin at the door,

"Think you can scare them? Don't kill them." I warned as the beginnings of a distorted smile crept up the Black Ghost's face, "they're innocent. I want them unconscious, not dead. I can't have any more blood on my hands," That wiped the grin right off the ghost's mouth and he started toward the door,

 ** _"_** ** _Don't push your luck. I'll do what I please."_** Alexa raised a brow,

"Jay what do you have in mind?" The tremulous smile I gave her came out more as a grimace,

"Do you believe in ghosts?" I clapped my hands over my ears as a shrill scream emitted from the bathroom. A loud bang along with the noise of claws scraping down the walls had us both jumping in fright, the eerie silence that followed was unnerving. Alexa stepped up to the door, her hands warded up,

"You don't think he killed them, do you?" I dry swallowed and twisted the handle,

"If he did, we're going to have to find a place to hide the bodies."

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 **Thank you for reading!**


	22. Chapter 22 When the Survival Rate is 24

**When the Survival Rate is at 24%**

 **Here we go! We're heading off!**

RetardedLaptopUser: **I'm back! Thank you for waiting! Hahaha i hope that i can create more interactions between Mad and Jay! Yes there's a fine line Jay has to tread when she's around her Black Ghost.**

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I wasn't the only one whose mouth dropped at the destruction in front of us.

The stalls had collapsed on their sides like a stack of dominos, cracks and holes punctured the ceramic tiles, the florescent lights flickered wildly as they dangled from their hold in the ceiling. The water pipes and sinks were smashed in half and completely destroyed, water sprung from the shattered spouts and found their way to the two personnel slumped over against the walls in dead faint.

Mad tossed a fragmented piece of tile in his palms before lobbing it into one of the windows wrecking the textured glass. Alexa let out a cry as the window shattered and wildly looked around, her entire posture ready to bolt at any second,

 ** _"_** ** _You only said not to kill them."_** The Black Ghost dusted his hands and accessed the damage with a pleased smile. I couldn't even bring myself to glare at him, I didn't have the balls to reprimand him and clenched my teeth.

"I must be losing my mind," I muttered. Trying not to cringe at the mess, we hurriedly stripped them of their heavy neon yellow coats, gloves, caps and employee passes. Alexa helped tuck my hair into the high collars of the jacket and with a couple of bobby pins she'd kept in her bag, ensured that the cap was firmly pinned to my head. On our way out, we ended up wedging a thick roll of paper towels underneath the door to make it more difficult to open. To our relief, the baggage handlers had parked their six feet luggage trolley beside the entrance,

"Our flight leaves in less than half an hour," Alexa warned and I huffed,

"I didn't expect the bags to be this heavy," my upper arms and shoulders were beginning to burn as we followed another team of handlers toward the rows of terminals, leading to the planes stationed outside.

"What terminal?" I whispered and Alexa checked the paper she'd hid in her pocket,

"15." We were beginning to descend a steep ramp and my unused muscles struggled to maintain their grip on the trolley. I pushed out a breath and glanced up in time to see Mad perched on top of the trolley in front of us with his tail curled around one of the metal poles. The terrifying f*cker was leaning precariously from his place with one of his arms stretched out, reading to hook his claws into the unsuspecting fool,

"STOP!" I shouted and the cart in front of us screeched to an abrupt halt, the sudden break forced us to dig our heels in to keep our trolley from crashing into the team in front of us. The men spun around,

"What was that for?" One of them demanded and my jaw opened and closed in a soundless gape,

"You…you almost…" the words died in my mouth as Mad angled his neck and tried to fit his yawning mouth over the man's head, "you almost hit -OHMYCHICKENNUGGETS DON'T EAT HIM!" Alexa flinched, her hold on the cart loosened and the trolley lurched forward so quickly I felt my body topple forward from the momentum. The men yelled and leaped out of the way.

Not fast enough.

With a loud clatter, the luggage cart smashed into the men, sending Mad flying off screeching in shock; his claws let out a tearing rip as the baggage he'd dug his claws into shredded from his grip.

"Uh oh," Alexa murmured as the suitcases stacked on top of each other went tumbling out.

"S-sorry!" I stammered as the men groaned and I risked an angry glare at Mad standing a few feet away.

The smarmy bastard was grinning.

"Don't think we're not going to report this to the manager," one of them snapped while his partner rubbed his arm muttering, "this is why we shouldn't hire women and expect them to do something right." My fingers curled around one of the handles of a rather weighty duffle bag.

I wonder how his head would look if I chucked this at him.

Alexa tugged on my sleeve and we hastily stacked the fallen luggage and shoved the cart along, making sure to roll our trolley right over the whining f*cker's foot as we went down.

The fool howled and I beamed and called over my shoulder in the most saccharine voice I could muster,

"Thanks for the complaint! I'll make sure to file it right between the "I don't give a flying f*ck" and "f*ck you!"" Over the injured bellows, Alexa sped up her pace,

"Straight up ahead! We're almost there!" I quickened my feet and with our stolen caps pulled tight over our lowered heads, we joined the team of workers loading the baggage onto the convertor belt.

"We've got less than fifteen minutes before the flight takes off! Let's go!" The blonde working alongside us practically threw the backpack she had in her arms onto the belt, she glanced at our luggage cart,

"You're the last load in! You better hurry!" Her voice rose as the plane began to hum. Two other workers rushed over to our trolley and began to slide the baggage onto the belt. Alexa and I exchanged a frantic look; how were we going to get onto the plane? Alexa began breathing hard,

"There's one place to hide in the plane…but we're risking our lives if we do it." She cast a glance at the handlers and tossed another bag over,

"Where?" Alexa nodded her head toward the plane's lower belly,

"I randomly clicked on this article that popped up on my newsfeed when I was bored. There's a place under the plane called the wheel well. It's basically the compartment for the wheels. Some dude was desperate enough to hide there on an 11-hour flight and ended up surviving." She swallowed, "according to the article, there's a 24% chance of survival if we try it. There's no heat, the air is thin and the wheel well isn't pressurized, "she grimaced, "it'll be like swimming stark naked in the f*cking waters of Antarctica." I snuck a look at the handlers who were already deserting the area, looked at Mad, and inhaled.

24% survival rate.

Condensed and unpressurized air.

The highly likeable chance of Alexa dying of hypothermia or freezing to death.

Worse comes to worst, we'd piss off Mad and he'll murder the everyone on board.

I pulled the zipper of my hoodie all the way up to my neck and heaved my backpack over my shoulder,

"Let's do it."

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 **Thank you for reading! Please leave a Critique!**


	23. Chapter 23 Stupidity At Its Finest

**Stupidity At It's Finest**

 **I'm back!**

 **RetardedLaptopUser: I'm glad you still find this story intriguing! Yeah that bathroom is completely destroyed thanks to Mad haha. Don't worry there's a lot more terrible exclamations coming your way! This ride is going to be the stupidest and reckless one yet.**

 **Faiika: This is actually true. I've done some research on stowaways and after browsing through the web, found a few articles on people who have survived while hiding in a plane's wheel well. I've done my best to find all the information i could get in my hands -there's actually a video of it too- but everything i write in this story has gone through research. Unfortunately, i never found the chance to watch the anime but I am up to date with the manga. I can only imagine how it feels to return to school as a "new" person and how people would treat you. It is a interesting thought.**

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Alexa is trembling. She's shaking so bad it's hard to forget that she's only human and her fears aren't without good reason.

While I can survive the pain and the agony on board, my best friend only has one life to give.

It's not something I could forget.

"Alexa," I began and she gives her head a shake,

"Nothing is impossible Jay," yet her hands are clasped together and she's murmuring a prayer. There's no time left for second thoughts, the blare of a horn and the whirr of the alarm stops us in our tracks as the speaker blares,

"All personnel please return to the main lobby. Security has detected a breach. Witnesses have reported that an Ajin has been sighted heading into terminals. There has been a situation in the women's lavatory, two female handlers have been found unconscious. All personnel please proceed with caution to the main lobby." _Shit!_ In a matter of seconds, we're sprinting down the last few yards toward the plane.

The wheel well is located right beneath the lower end of the plane, two steel plates are folded outward to lower the wheels during landing and are manually pulled back up for take-off. Alexa grabbed the first steel pole and used the crossed metal bars to heave herself up and into the compartment. She used the tubes and other sorts of machinery embedded into the walls as handholds and edged toward the far corner of the well. In a space just barely enough for a person to perch on, Alexa squeezed herself into the gap and grabbed onto the bars in front of her,

"See? There," she panted. I stared up at the large, steel flap that would be used as a door to seal the wheel in.

"Is there room?" I shouted. Alexa shifted in her spot and swiveled her head and looked around,

"This is f*cking risky but hold onto the wheels, the plane won't pull the wheels in until they're sure the plane is stable in the air, once the wheels retract, hold on and let the wheels pull you in." My mouth parted open and I stared at her,

"ARE YOU INSANE!" I hollered and Alexa shot me a withering look,

"There's no other option! Now get your ass up on those wheels!" Still gaping, I grabbed onto the first bar and heaved myself as high as I could into the well,

"NOW WHAT?" My voice was painfully high and this time, it was my turn to tremble,

"HOLD ON!" The engines above our heads hummed and the plated compartment let out a hiss as gas and hot air began seeping from the tubes. There was a lurch and the plane began to move.

"There's got to be a way to get some insulation in here," I shivered as a wind blasted my face and rub my arms. The skeletal edges of Mad's tail whips down as he curls his lip and juts his chin at Alexa clinging onto the bars,

 ** _"_** ** _Your friend will die."_** I turn around so fast that I nearly topple right back out of the compartment,

"Don't say that! We're all getting out of this alive!" I jab a finger at him angrily, "have some mercy with your words!" Mad thrusted his head directly to my face and gave me a front row seat to his glistening fangs,

 ** _"_** ** _Mercy is if I kill her right now, she won't be able to survive this."_** His tail jerked at Alexa's shivering figure huddled in the corner of the wheel well, **_"look at her."_** I glanced helplessly at my friend; she'd tucked her fingers under her armpits and watched me with wide eyes. The plane let out a shudder and a loud hiss filled the air. Fear shone in her dark amber eyes and she immediately began to search for something to hold on. I turned my head to Mad,

"What can I do?" I said weakly, "there's no other way for us. We've got no choice." My hands clutched tightly onto the wildly shaking bars as the plane turned a corner,

We've seriously underestimated the plane's speed as the airline picked up momentum till it was streaking down the runway. The plane shuddered and the engines roared as the wheels left the ground. My shaking fingers suddenly lost their hold as one of the unstable bars snapped from the added weight and I tipped toward the spinning wheels,

"MAD!" I screamed and the Black Ghost swooped and managed to wrap his tail tightly around my waist before I tumbled headfirst into the wheels. His claws sank into the metal plating and dug down, bracing for the sudden drop in pressure. Wind snarled and buffeted my face and for a few seconds, it was impossible to breathe.

We pressed ourselves as far against the metal plating as we could as the wheels retracted back into the compartment when we failed to realize another thing; the wheel well was only big enough to fit one person. There was no room for another.

"Jay!" Alexa let out a petrified cry as the plane lifted into the sky, the skin on my hands immediately froze as the temperatures rapidly plunged. It wasn't long before I felt the cold down to my bones; dread clutched my heart, we weren't going to make it.

As the plane ascended, it was getting more and more difficult to inhale and the struggle to stay conscious began. My grip on the bar slackened and I felt my conscious slip,

 ** _"_** ** _Do not close your eyes."_** Mad growled and he bent his head down and slicked his tongue over my face. The back of his hand non-too gently slapped my cheek, pulling me awake,

"I-it's c-c-c-cold," I whimpered and the tail around my torso constricted.

Hovering on the wheels, I looked up and estimated the gap of space between the wheels and the ceiling and prepared myself to be crushed. Did I dare hope that there would be space between the retracted tires and the metal plates above? My mind screamed at the recklessness; it was a f*cking stupid gamble. I had to move with the metal poles when the plane pulled the wheels in, if I didn't move fast enough, I would be left stranded outside of the plane. Even if I made it in, there would be no guarantee that there was room. I would be completely flattened and crushed.

I'm suddenly pretty f*cking thankful I can grow back limbs.

 _"_ _Mad, can you jump onto the ceiling and hold onto me until the wheels are fully retracted?"_ The Black Ghost hesitated for a second, gauging my plan.

He grinned,

 ** _"_** ** _If the wheels go all the way in. You'll die. Again."_** He glanced down at me as the sound of wheels unlocking from their clasp. There was a loud groan and I felt the bars beneath my feet quake.

The Mad Hatter licked his lips and laughed,

 ** _"_** ** _Woman. You never cease to bore me,"_** His wiry body tucked into a crouch and his arm shot out just as his tail released its hold onto me. A skeletal arm enfolded me in a vice grip and tucked me into his body as the Black Ghost launched us into the air over the plane's roar and Alexa's piercing scream,

"NO JAY! NOOO!" I gripped tightly onto Mad's shoulder as the Black Ghost sank his claws and curved feet into the pipes, wrecking holes into the plates. Air hissed into my face and I scrabbled to turn around. In this position, I laid face down and pressed tightly against The Mad Hatter's body as he hung suspended in the air.

I felt it all. Every ridged groove, every bandaged-like bone and every single roped muscle the creature possessed in his deformed torso. All of it, was pressed acutely into my body. Mad let out a rumble and I left my head to stare into his faceless head were his eyes would be. His wicked, wickedly sadistic expression was more than enough for me to close my eyes and send out a fervent prayer as his devilish voice caressed my mind,

 ** _"_** ** _Thank you for flying Ajin Airlines."_**

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Please don't forget to leave your thoughts!**


	24. Chapter 24 The Sordid Details

**The Sordid Details**

 **Sorry for the wait!**

 **Faiika: Mad's sense of humor goes along the lines of sarcasm at its finest. Hmmm Mad and Jay...and interesting and explosive combination...**

 **RetardedLaptopUser: I hope i don't end up permanently damage Alexa either :( Ajin Airlines would definitely NOT be anyone's choice haha! We'll see how it works out! Cross your fingers and hope for the best!**

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The first to go were my arms. The wheels had passed through Mad as if he were transparent glass and oh if I could just describe to you readers just how much agony it brought.

It was pain, ripping, biting, tearing f*cking pain. Over the last few days of getting shot at, poked in the eyes and shot at some more, this motherf*cker took the f*cking cake.

I hastily shed the winter coat I was wearing and left my ass out to freeze in the air as the speed of the closing wheels tore through the already holey sweater. The skin from my knees all the way up to my elbows were immediately flayed and burn. I haven't even begun to tell you about the overwhelming weight those wheels had on them because the second the lever swung them up, four of my ribs cracked under the pressure and shaved the flesh along my hips till the black tires scraped at least an inch into my pelvic bone.

I screamed till my throat bled. F*ck morphine, I needed to be drowning in a vat of Dr. Numb before I ever decide to attempt this stupid idea again. By the time the wheels dropped again as the plane tilted, there wasn't a spot on my body where there wasn't a speck of blood.

I was shutting down, and fast.

"JAY!" Alexa shrieked as every weary bone in my body lost all motor functions and I collapsed onto Mad's chest,

 ** _"_** ** _Woman. Wake up…if you don't hold onto me, I won't be able to…"_** It was an effort to lift my head that now felt like it weighed over a ton but the sharp, adamant hiss from the Black Ghost prompted me to look at him. To my horror, wisps of black matter were beginning to leach off his body,

"I-I don't understand. What's happening?" Mad snarled and dug his claws deeper into the grooves he created as my hands continued to fall through his body.

 ** _"_** ** _I. Don't. Know."_** Was the frustrated growl and I whipped my head up, desperately searching for something to grab on to. The pain blinded my senses; with Mad's rapidly fading body, there was nothing to support me. I felt my body tip forward and I began hurling head first into the oncoming wheels. The Mad Hatter let out a desperate roar and with his arm still intact, reached down and grabbed my shoulder and flipped me around in time so the backpack and my lower torso took the brunt of the impact.

"GRAB ONTO THE WHEELS! THEY'RE GOING TO DROP ONE MORE TIME!" I could barely catch Alexa's high-pitched warning as I blindly reached out and with the last bit of my strength, wrapped my hand around a thick bar that separated the two wheels. All air shot out of my lungs as the wheels suddenly dropped back down and I found myself dangling in the air some 20,000 feet above the ground.

I was going to be sick.

This was much, much worse than hanging off Supreme Scream or any f*cking roller coaster.

"MAD!" I screeched as the wheels shook from the drop, my fingers were gripping so hard onto the metal bar that my knuckles were bleached white. I risked a frantic glance up for the Black Ghost and saw nothing.

The f*cker had disappeared altogether.

Getting hit by the damn fruit truck that started this all hadn't drawn fear being that I never anticipated the accident nor did I feel the shock of the pain when I was hit. However, the knowledge that you're miles above what wouldn't be simply death, but a horrific amount of pain waiting in death's hold was when I found myself gripped in what I believed was true fear. A fear that even the Black Ghost's ferocity could not bring out. My entire body had long braced itself for the expected death row, every single organ in my body fought against the pull as survival and the innate nature of persistence warred in my heart.

The Mad Hatter had been there to drag me back from what would've been another face to face with death.

Deranged as he was, the grudging acknowledgment that he'd saved my asses more times than anyone else -including myself- was…morbidly gratifying.

Willingly or not, he left me to deal with this alone. And the terrifying revelation was what frightened me the most.

"JAY! ARE YOU OKAY?!" The plane continued to quickly rise and as it did, the temperature began plunging just as fast. Alexa wasn't joking, I was more likely to catch hypothermia and die a slower, agonizing death than freeze my arm off. Without the creature that I so reluctantly relied on, my options were shrinking by the second. Without warning, the wheels lifted and I clung on as tightly with numb hands as the levels brought me back to the ceiling. We didn't release our pent up breaths till the compartment slid closed with a final exhaust of gas.

I was in a world of pain. The immediate healing factor, while doing its best to quickly knit my torn flesh and bones together, did not shy away from showing me the damages I've done to my body. All the desperation that forced my flayed body to hold onto the sliver of survival had been exhausted, the steam, like a relieved gust of breath, forced its way out of my lungs and I crashed landed onto the wheels. With the adrenaline fast fading, in came the sensation of what would be the next few hours of complete agony as my hybrid self-sowed the hyper-sensitive nerves back together.

There was nothing else I could do but lay there, utterly exhausted and helpless as I waited. At the back recesses of my mind, I wished for death. A soft whimper blinked me back from my slipping haze and I glanced over at Alexa clutching the bars in front of her, her eyes wider than dinner plates as she made a tentative movement to help me only to grab the steel poles again when the plan shook.

The bottom lip she'd been worrying over was beginning to darken to a blueish hue.

As blood's warm liquid continued to pool over my head, I stared up at the ceiling as the bleary sarcastic notion that had been slamming itself into my head smashed through.

Dear Life,

Could you at least start using lubricant?

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 **Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave your thoughts below!**


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